Pokemon: Shattered Empires
by black angel 2011
Summary: Ash's life takes a turn for the worst, losing everything that he holds dear to him, with everything lost to him, he begins a journey towards revenge for his lost love. Ash meets up with Salvia who has escaped due to the growing danger within the walls of her palace, the two begin a fight for survival which will strengthen their bond.
1. Hammer Strike

**Pokemon: Shattered Empires**

_**Summary: **__A fragile peace has reigned for many years, but that is about to come to a screeching halt, tragedy soon befalls Ash as a massive conflict soon grips the Sinnoh Region, a princess soon comes to reality to turn against her father, it soon falls to Ash and Salvia to change the destiny of the world around them, with nothing to gain there is everything to lose as well._

_**Main Characters:**_

_**Ash: 21**_

_**Salvia: 20**_

_**Deceased characters:**_

_**Dawn: 20 (deceased) **__yes she is one of my favourite characters but this is part of the story._

_**Pikachu: 11 (also deceased) **__Heartless aren't I? Same as above._

_**Disclaimer: **__ Pokemon and the characters don't belong to me, they are the property of Satoshi Tajiri, please support the official release._

**Chapter 1: Hammer strike**

* * *

Ash kneeling on the ground wearing a suit with a black container in his hand, he looked up with great pride and took a deep breath, Ash's and Dawn's respective mothers were witnessing what was unfolding in front of them. "Dawn will you marry me?" A raven haired trainer asked his long-time girlfriend, presenting his expensive ring to the blue haired coordinator. Everyone in the room was silent, Ash wearing his suit waited for an answer as Dawn with her mouth agape looked at the diamond ring, "so Dawn, what do you say, want to be my wife?" Ash persisted with great expectations.

Dawn who was wearing a pink dress looked at the ring and placed her hand over her mouth in great surprise, tears of joy streamed down her face, she turned to her mother who was the standing next to Delia, both hoping for an answer from the bluenette, "come on Dawn say something," Johanna told her daughter with a proud expression.

Dawn looked back, she removed her hands and looked down towards Ash and smiled, "yes Ash, I will be your wife," Dawn finally replied as she watched her love slip the engagement ring on her finger.

Ash stood up and embraced Dawn with the two mothers and Pikachu watching from the entrance of the room, "I have waited for this day for so long," Ash confessed while pulling back to looking into his fiancés bright blue eyes, "took me long enough I bet," Ash commented with a chuckle.

"Yes it did Ash," Dawn replied lovingly. The bluenette now on her tip toes, pressed her lips against Ash's to seal the deal, "I cannot wait to marry you Ash," Dawn chimed after pulling back from the kiss.

"Me too Dawn," Ash replied as he put his arms around his future wife, not expecting anything bad to happen, his life was heading in the perfect direction, he had Dawn forever, won a pokemon league, "you know everything has worked out so well, I have a beautiful woman, and now, I can focus on my job as a Champion taking on many challengers," Ash explained his goals to Dawn.

"Yeah, I know," Dawn replied happily, admiring her engagement ring.

"You know you two need to go out for the night to celebrate," Delia suggested with great joy.

"Yeah, there is this nice restaurant that you could take my daughter to," Johanna remarked after her best friend.

"Plus there is this amazing view Ash, it really is amazing," Dawn told Ash about the view.

Ash looked over to his partner pokemon who tilted his head and walked up the steps, "alright Dawn, get ready for a night out," Ash instructed his fiancé.

"Um Ash, I am already ready to go out tonight, I was kind of hoping that we would go on a date tonight," Dawn replied with a giggle. She grabbed onto Ash's arm and dragged him out of the house wanting to have a great night with her soon to be husband, ignoring the men rushing towards the harbour of the small town.

"Dawn, don't you think that this is quite odd?" Ash questioned the bluenette.

"What is Ash?" Dawn enquired.

Ash looked back with concern, "nothing Dawn, just overthinking that's all," Ash lied to his future wife. The two walked towards the town centre for their date together, 'I have a bad feeling,' Ash thought as he looked back wondering what was happening.

_(Arrowroot Town)_

A guard walked up to the king with a paper in his grasp, "sire, we have received reports that Littleroot Town is about to be attacked," one of the Sinnoh Soldiers told the king of the region, the man wearing a black suit approached the king of the region.

The king shook his head but there was nothing but a smirk on his face, "so it begins," the king announced calmly. The king walked towards the room at the end of the hall, "who is it?" he asked quietly not wanting to wake up his daughter.

Meanwhile Salvia pressed her ear against the door, dressed in a purple night gown, she tried her best to listen to the conversation, "it is the Unova forces sir," Salvia overheard the soldier talking to her father.

Salvia turned around and put her back on the door, shocked at what she had heard from the people on the other side of the door, "unbelievable, so this region is at war, starting with Littleroot," Salvia whispered as she gasped in horror at something she had remembered, a sudden chill ran down her back, "no Lady Dawn," Salvia gulped in shock, she quickly got to her feet and rushed towards the closet to leave the palace.

"Sire what about the princess?" one of the soldiers asked with concern.

Salvia froze to listen to her father's response, "she is weak, too kind and too gentle, I will be the last king this region ever sees," the king decreed.

"What, but I am next in line, he promised that I would be the queen of this region after my twenty first birthday," Salvia whispered while placing her best friend's attire on her bed, wondering what was going to happen, she remembered the time of peace that the region had enjoyed since before she was born, "so this peace was a fake peace, my dad intended to rule with an iron fist," Salvia said as she started to change her clothes.

"So what is the plan?" the general asked quietly.

Salvia approached the door to hear another response, "this is like a game of Go, we position ourselves until we capture our objectives, in other words leave Littleroot Town to its fate, we will push them back into the sea later on," the king replied not realising that his daughter was overhearing the conversation.

"But what about your daughter?" the general asked with concern.

"What about her? My sole concern is to consolidate my power to defeat the Unova forces, while keeping Hoenn and Kalos at bay," the King stated while walking down the hall.

Salvia pulled open her door slightly and watched her father and soldiers walking towards the war room, she waited to see what was going on, still in shock that her father would abandon towns in his own region, she walked slowly towards the distant room, tip toeing towards it not wanting to let others know that she is spying on her own father, "I will find out what is really going on," Salvia resolved.

Salvia continued down the hall, as she got closer she heard an Earth shattering roar, it caught the attention of everyone in the palace, "wait that sounds like Palkia," Salvia whispered as she made it to the room, she pushed open the door and peered inside to see a large white pokemon standing on its hind legs, the other pokemon, coloured blue and standing on all fours, "Dialga too," Salvia placed her hand over her mouth at the sight of the two mighty pokemon.

"Yes the Unova region is bringing Reshiram and Zekrom, Hoenn will have Groudon and Kyogre while Kalos will be using Xerneas and Yveltal," the general pointed out while he was looking up to the two legendary pokemon.

"That's right; each kingdom has two legendary pokemon of their own, as for my daughter, the promise I made two years ago, now stands for nothing, she doesn't have what it takes to lead," the king informed the general who shook his head in amazement. The two heard the door close behind them, the king suddenly turned around and approached the door, "there is a spy, find that spy and execute that spy," the king ordered his general angrily.

Salvia started running back to her room in fear of her father's command, she made it to her room and closed the door behind her, breathing heavily she jumped into her bed and placed the blanket over her head, she heard the footsteps approaching her room, "please, don't enter," Salvia pleaded, she breathed a sigh of relief as the two men rushed passed her room and towards the perceived spy. The princess pushed the blankets away and re-opened the door, she looked down the hall way to find that her father and his general making it to the main hall of the palace.

Salvia placed her hand on the door and pushed it open, looking back to see if anyone was nearby, she walked in slowly towards the containment area to find the two pokemon looking down at her, "how terrible, you two shouldn't be locked up like this," Salvia whispered, she frowned at the sight and started to wonder what her father's real intentions were, "also my best friend is in danger," Salvia admitted to the two powerful pokemon.

_(Flashback 5 months earlier)_

"You know Salvia, there is one thing I cannot wait for," Dawn told the royal with a hopeful grin, the two girls walked down the street of Arrowroot Town talking about Dawn's dream about the future she was wanting to have.

"What is that Lady Dawn?" Salvia asked her best friend.

Dawn looked up with a smile gracing her lips, "I have been going out with Ash for so long," Dawn pointed out with great pride.

"Oh that's right, you two have been inseparable for so long," Salvia stated with a grin.

Dawn nodded at her friends words, "yes that's right," Dawn acknowledged as the two girls continued down the road talking about Ash some more. Dawn started to smile think about the day Ash would finally ask her that one question, "I have always visioned Ash and I getting married one day, settling down and having a family together," Dawn admitted her thoughts to her friend.

"That sounds amazing Lady Dawn, you and Sir Ash, make a wonderful couple," the princess said while clasping her hands together. "Hey why not make your wedding at my palace, I want to be your bridesmaid," Salvia suggested while Dawn looked over to the look a-like fondly.

"Sure, I would be honoured, but that would upset my other best friend," Dawn commented as she approached the palace gates with her friend.

"Well I better get going, I have so much I need to do," Salvia stated as she entered the gates of the palace.

_(Back to Salvia)_

"It seems the spy has entered into this area," one of the guards commented as the door was pushed open with considerable force.

Salvia ran towards the back of the room where the crates were being stored, "I need to get out of here," Salvia whispered, thinking of a way to escape the situation she was in, she watched from around the corner to see the men looking for the spy not knowing that it was the princess. It was as they walked into the room next door Salvia took the opportunity to run to the exit, she looked at the two pokemon, "I will save you both, please wait," Salvia told the two pokemon with tears running down her face.

The two captured pokemon nodded and watched the princess leave the area, hearing the voices of the men approaching the young princess. "You two know something about that spy, I will find out what that spy wants," the king told the two pokemon as he rushed off towards the exit of the war room with a rampaging desire to kill the person that was checking the place out, not taking into consideration that the spy was his own daughter.

Salvia made it to her room and locked the door, "that was close," Salvia panted, feeling like her heart was about to jump out of her chest, she tried to compress the fear she was experiencing and the fact that her father was willing to dispose of her.

A loud knock was heard on her bedroom door, "Salvia, this door is locked, I want to see if the spy had entered your room," the King advised his daughter with as her heart started to race again.

"No dad, there was no spy," Salvia lied to her father. "Dad, before you go, you never told me what happened to my mother," Salvia questioned her father with a frown.

"Nothing that concerns you, now get some sleep!" Salvia's father yelled at his daughter.

Salvia froze at the mannerisms of her father, "he is hiding something, I will find out," Salvia resolved, she walked towards the balcony of her room and looked out towards the horizon. Salvia kept her gaze passed the palace walls, a sea of stars spread across the dark canvas with the half-moon imposing its dominance over the night sky, "I have to leave, I don't feel safe here," Salvia told herself as she looked down to see the guards keeping an eye out for the spy.

_(Littleroot Town)_

Ash and Dawn were sitting at the fancy restaurant enjoying their meal together, "you know Ash, six years we have been going out, I can only say this, it's about damn time you asked me to be your wife," Dawn chimed as she grabbed her dessert and started eating it. Ash chuckled as he placed an entire slice of cake into his mouth, "if there is one thing I need to learn, is that I need to learn to cook for an army," Dawn giggled before an explosion shook the ground around them, shattering the glass of the restaurant and knocking the couple to the ground.

Ash and Dawn got back to their feet and noticed that the dark sky was now illuminated by a fiery red smoke, "what, not now," Ash declared while helping Dawn back to her feet. Ash placed his money on the table and the couple rushed outside to see that an invasion force had entered the streets with a small army defending the town.

"Ash, our mothers, Pikachu and Piplup," Dawn gasped in horror before running off ahead of her fiancé.

"Dawn wait!" Ash yelled out before another explosion knocked him off his feet. He got back up and started to run towards Dawn's house, "why now?" Ash hissed as he ran down the streets, seeing trees knocked out of the ground and houses burning to the ground, Ash looked up to see three men from the Sinnoh Defence Force being slaughtered by what seemed like a Unova invasion force, "what Unova? But why?" Ash questioned perplexed at what was happening.

With no time to think Ash ran towards his future wife's house to see what was going on, Ash looked around the sky was reddened but the surrounding houses blackened by the fires of the opening salvos of war, "Dawn where are you?!" Ash yelled out, the ground continued to shake violently with buildings exploding into flames around Ash.

Ash rushed through the streets with his search for Dawn intensifying, the yelling of soldiers as the battle for the small town started to building in intensity, Ash looked around in search for Dawn. Before he could turn the corner to the next street a tree fell in front of him making the champion jump back to avoid the tree trunk from hitting him.

Ash looked around to see if there was another road, he looked back to see a group of men dressed in white approaching the street he was on, "all men find and capture any survivors," an officer told one of the soldiers.

With little time to think and the Unova soldiers approaching from the other side of the street, Ash ran towards the tree and climbed on the tree trunk. As he was about to get over the tree trunk an electric attack whizzed pass his head causing him to fall to the ground on the other side of the tree, "hurry we need to capture him," one of the soldiers told the other.

After landing heavily on his back Ash suddenly woke up with blood dripping from his left arm, he got up slowly in pain after the fall, "oh man that was not cool," Ash whispered, he rolled over and got up, he spotted more houses on fire and limped towards the wall, he placed his right hand on the wall and kept going, "this town is getting destroyed, where is the Sinnoh Defence force?" Ash asked in disbelief, scanning the town which was now in a shade of crimson.

Dawn was standing at the front of her house, engulfed in flames she watched in despair as it started to crumble to the ground right in front of her, "mom, Piplup!" Dawn started to cry, she fell to the ground and screamed out in agony as she had lost the ones closest to her.

Ash had made it to see Dawn looking at the house crying at what she had seen, "no, Pikachu, mom it can't be," Ash whispered in horror as he approached his fiancé.

"Ash, we lost our family," Dawn cried, she got back to her feet and embraced Ash.

A group of soldiers turned from one street spotting Ash and Dawn embracing, "there are survivors here!" a soldier yelled out.

Ash looked up and gritted his teeth, "oh shit Dawn we have to get out of here now," Ash told the blunette as he grabbed her right hand. The two started running avoiding pokemon attacks from behind them.

"Ash, are we the only ones to survive this sudden attack?" Dawn enquired as she looked up to see the sky now completely reddened from the fires of war.

"No time to answer, we need to get out of here," Ash shrugged off the question and continued towards the end of the street. The two kept running not daring to look back as more attacks kept flying passed their heads. They fell to the ground as more explosions rattled the area, the battles around the town became less intense as the opposing soldiers approached them, "great, the tiny defence has crumbled, come on Dawn," Ash got back to his feet, he helped Dawn back up and the two started running again this time into a random street.

Ash continued to run through the streets avoiding detection from the soldiers, "Ash where are we going?" Dawn asked in surprise, not knowing which direction her future husband was taking her.

"I don't know, everywhere seems the same to me," Ash hissed, he continued until he spotted the street heading out towards the exit of the small town.

Ash let go of Dawn's hand and the two started to exit the town, Ash and Dawn looked towards the destroyed town in shock, unable to take in what they had experienced. Saddened by what had happened the attack which had come along so suddenly forced them to flee from the home town of Dawn, "Ash, this is horrible," Dawn cried as she fell to her knees in tears, seeing her home town in flames as the final act of the sudden attack ended, "I have lost my home," Dawn cried.

Ash placed his arm around the bluenette and shook his head, "there was no time for the people to escape," Ash stated, he started to ponder about why, why did this happen? Losing his partner pokemon, his mother while Dawn had experienced the exact same emotions, losing the ones precious to her. Ash was shaking with anger, "this was cowardly," Ash hissed in anger.

"Yeah," Dawn replied in sorrow, she got back up and looked back towards the town.

Before the two could leave the area three powerful attacks seemingly directed at Ash caught the attention of Dawn, without thinking Dawn pushed Ash aside with all her might and took the attack for him, saving his life, injuring herself mortally. His eyes widened by what he had witnessed, seeing Dawn fall to the ground from the attack, Ash looked up and spotted three men with their pokemon at their sides, "no, not you too Dawn," Ash gasped in shock, he looked down and collapsed to one knee, 'no, I had only just asked her to marry me, this is a nighmare, it isn't real, I can't be real,' Ash cried, Ash picked her up and started running towards the next town.

"A-Ash," Dawn stammered as her strength started to leave her.

"No Dawn save your strength, I am going to save you," Ash said as tears started to fall from his eyes, he continued to run, not even thinking of looking back this time, not even stopping in case someone needed help, his sole focus was Dawn.

Dawn started to laugh lightly as she was being carried towards the next town, she placed her right hand on her left and pulled the engagement ring from her hand, "this is where I break my promise to you Ash," Dawn stated weakly, returning his ring and smiling at him.

"Shut up Dawn, I said I will save you," Ash stated before falling over on the ground, Dawn fell out of his arms and face up towards the stars, "Dawn!" Ash called out to her.

Ash got up and kneeled next to Dawn, "you saved me Ash," Dawn commented as the light in her eyes started to fade.

"No Dawn, stay with me!" Ash yelled out while Dawn grabbed his hand, she placed the ring in his hand and smiled softly at him, "come on," Ash tried to plead as he continued to cry out for Dawn to live.

"You know Ash….." Dawn started while turning her attention to Ash, she moved her left hand onto his face and caressed it gently, "I can still smile…knowing that without a doubt," Dawn's breathing started to fade and the colour on her face grew more pale.

Ash placed his arms around Dawn as he shook his head, "no stop it," Ash instructed Dawn.

"No Ash I will not," Dawn replied with a proud smile, "I will always love you," Dawn professed while her left arm dropped to the ground and her life had finally left her.

Ash still in shock, started to shake Dawn to bring her back, "Dawn, Dawn, you can't leave me," Ash cried as he tried unsuccessfully to bring her, "DAWN!" Ash cried out while collapsing on top of her, crying uncontrollably continuously calling for her. His grief was soon overcome by rage; he jumped back up and yelled out in anger, blood curdling fury making the pokemon in the surrounding area run away at the mere sound of it.

Ash picked Dawn up again this time walking slowly towards a tree filled with small blue berries, tears still streaming down his face and a million thoughts rushing through his mind, memories flooding back, 'Ash, wait for me,' Dawn's words echoed in his mind, thinking back to when she wanted to travel with him around the pokemon world, 'Ash, I promise to love you until the day I die, no forever,' Dawn's promise played back a thousand times.

Ash looked down at the lifeless body of the one he loved, "you fulfilled one promise, but I failed to fulfil mine," Ash whispered as he made it to the tree. Putting Dawn on the ground he pulled out a folded shovel from his bag, he started to dig the ground saddened by the night's events, "a promise to look after you for the rest of our lives and now look what happened," Ash said in a sorrowful manner.

After digging the hole in the ground Ash turned to the one he loved, "you were always my ray of sunlight Dawn," Ash stated while picking up the dead bluenette. Ash gently placed Dawn in the ground and looked at the ring that was returned to him, "This is yours Dawn, take it with you please," Ash whispered while slowly placing the ring back on her finger, he looked towards her face to see a smile still on her lips, Ash knelt down and kissed her gently on the lips, "I will never forget you Dawn," Ash promised as he walked out of the grave.

Ash pushed the dirt back into the ground burying Dawn and the engagement ring, feeling both sad and angry, and tears still streaming down his face, but fury that remained shackled inside. After finishing the job, Ash walked up to the tree and started to carve it with a small knife, "Dawn, my one and only ray of sunshine," Ash whispered as he carved the words of his love in the tree.

Ash started to walk away from the site and wondered to himself, what was going to happen next? He had lost everything, he looked up to see the clouds growing darker and the rain starting to fall, "great, even the skies are crying," Ash announced, he clenched his fists in rage, "I will make them suffer, for what they have done!" Ash announced his revenge for the world to hear. Ash looked back to the tree where he had buried Dawn, "Dawn, wait for me," Ash whispered while closing his eyes. In his vision he had seen Dawn smiling with the sun rising in the background, "no Dawn I will not be seeing you again, for what I am about to do, it seems like I will be going straight to hell, and the people that did this to you, I am dragging them down with me," Ash announced his intentions to Dawn's gravesite, he grabbed a knife and carved his and Dawn's initials with a love heart surrounding them.

Ash walked away thinking about everything he had lost during the night, his Pikachu, mother, Dawn and her family, it all seemed too much for the trainer, holding back his anger and sadness he continued to trudge towards the next town in the rain on his own. He had seemingly lost everything in a quick moment, everything seemed perfect but his world soon came crashing down around him, he fell to his knees and let out another powerful yell, "I will never see her smile again!" he yelled out smashing his fists into the grounds picking up water, he fell to the ground with tears streaming down his face.

_(Arrowroot Town)_

Salvia started eating her breakfast, but her appetite was a little off, she looked around the room as an air of unease filled the room, "Dad, I am going to go for a walk in town," Salvia announced quietly.

"Very well, but you need to take the personal guard with you," the king stated while walking towards his own guard, he whispered something into the guards ear.

Salvia noticed this strange behaviour and walked towards the main foyer, "no dad, I want to walk on my own, I have some things to think about," Salvia told her dad softly. Salvia walked towards the entrance of the palace and towards the main gates, "I will find out what is going on," Salvia promised herself as she walked towards the main street of the town.

The king looking out the window started to smirk at his daughter's growing independence, "she could be a problem, I don't want anyone being a threat to my power, eliminate her," the king ordered one of the guards without any form of remorse.

Knowing this Salvia looked back towards palace gates and started to run away from the town, not wanting to think about what her father was planning on doing, "I cannot believe my father would want me dead, all just so he could hold onto his power," Salvia whispered, she shook her head and started walking further away from the town on her own.

Her thoughts drifted to her best friend, who was most likely in the midst of the battle for the town, but as she continued to walk a heavy weight fell on her shoulders, as if some sudden sadness gripped her, 'why am I so sad?' Salvia asked herself, placing her hand over her heart, she could feel something guiding her. Before she could find out the answer she heard the guards from the palace in the shrubs, "oh no, I better get to the next city in a hurry," Salvia told herself as she started to run off towards the major city to the north of her home town.

"Call forth my secret weapons, The Seven Shadow Lords," the king instructed his men making them worry about the command.

"Sire that's a bit much just for one person isn't it?" the guard asked his king, he grew concerned about the king's desire to get rid of his daughter, the king turned to the young man who was shaking from the mere mention of the Seven Shadow Lords, the king glared at him and grabbed his collar, he cringed for a moment knowing that he was in strife from answering back to his superior, "alright sire the Seven Shadow Lords it is," the man submitted while looking back towards the palace walls.

"Oh good, we can finally feast on a battle, how I have waited to eat my enemies whole," one of the mysterious people proclaimed while one of the royal guards walked up to him.

"I see, so we are to hunt the king's daughter and have her killed, so how much money is the king willing to pay us? Because if he doesn't pay us, then we aren't going to do this job," one of the Seven Shadow Lords explained to the guard.

"Our skills are too good for the king, in fact we Seven Shadow Lords are more powerful than any of the kings and queens in this world," a young man commented while appearing in a black hooded cloak, "fine, Greed, you are to head out and deal with the princess," the male leader instructed the person calmly.

"Wait, where is the other Shadow Lord?" the royal guard questioned the six remaining shadows.

"We can't control him, his fury is uncontrollable, so we bind him in chains to make sure he doesn't hurt the people that pay us to do their dirty work," the leader of the Shadow lords replied calmly, he looked over to his group and nodded and vanished to get ready for the task, 'soon The Seven Shadows will change this world and we will rule it with fear on our side," the leader proclaimed while looking down at the king who was preparing the mission with Greed.

* * *

**Okay yes the start of this chapter was a little malicious of me, but that will serve as a platform to the story. It is me trying something a little different as well, so I hope you enjoyed it, even though certain characters are some of my favourites it doesn't mean I should be nice to them all the time. The Seven Shadows are named after the seven deadly sins**

**Next up chapter 2: There is no light.**

_Also this story is rated (M) there will be moderate violence, mild-moderate language, consumption of alcohol and some other stuff._

_I have done 2 stories (Almost Easy and Separate Roads) with the same formula, so I want to give this darker story a try. I am also typing the forgotten pieces, so please be patient, some of the chapter of the forgotten stories will be released in the new year, most likely first week into the new year.  
_


	2. There is no Light

**Chapter 2: there is no light.**

_**Summary: **__the pain sets in for Ash, he can no longer feel happy, it is then he finds himself in a situation where he discovers the truth behind the attack on Twinleaf Town, as the story of the Seven Shadow Lords comes to light._

* * *

Ash walked slowly towards Sandgem Town, lonely, not even the wild pokemon were enough to change his mood, after losing everything in one night Ash walked through the grass swept fields and three lined path, he kept looking to the right hoping that Dawn was standing next to him and down to his left where Pikachu always used to be, 'why? Why did this happen?' Ash kept asking himself, hoping that none of the soldiers followed him.

"I couldn't do a thing," Ash looked up to the clouds as the thunder continued to rumble, he clenched his fists in anger not only at the enemies that stole his closest companions from him, but at himself feeling like he let the people closest to him down.

The trainer wondered through until he spotted the lights from the lamps lighting up the small town, it continued to rain, getting closer to Sandgem Town Ash spotted a familiar group of men, "those guys, there were in Twinleaf Town," Ash noticed the men, they walked around casually, also hoping to find something, they walked passed the regional professor's lab as if they weren't interested in him.

"The army of the Seven Shadow Lords must be around somewhere," one of the soldiers proclaimed.

"Yeah, we need to avert the disaster of Twinleaf Town," the other solider replied.

"Shadow Lords? Just what it Is going on, they aren't even interested in Professor Rowan, and now they act like they weren't at fault," Ash whispered, he walked slowly approaching the soldiers from behind.

"They attacked their own town, but then again the Seven Shadow Lords are masterless, they only obey themselves," the first soldier commented.

Ash froze for a moment and listened in on the conversation, but his anger overcame him and he charged towards one of the soldiers, "you, you are to blame for the loss of my fiancé, you bastards!" Ash yelled at the soldiers.

"Calm down, we didn't even fire a single shot, in fact we were set upon and so was the town by the Sinnoh's defence force," the Unova soldier commented trying his best to calm the angry trainer.

"Liar, there is no way the Sinnoh army could destroy their own, that isn't possible!" Ash yelled as he pulled back his clenched fist and let loose a powerful punch full of his rage, the soldier fell to the ground cupping his face, Ash was tackled to the ground, "let me go now!" Ash ordered the soldiers, but they didn't heed his command.

"I am sorry sir, but we cannot do that, you need to calm down," the solider did his best to reason with Ash.

"I will calm down when you lot are dead!" Ash snapped back, trying his best to free himself.

Professor Rowan walked out of the lab to find that Ash was tackled onto the ground, "Ash calm yourself, these guys are here to help us," Professor Rowan also tried his best to reason with the furious trainer.

"Oh they did a fine job helping, if what you call help, I call I lost everything!" Ash announced as he continued to try and free himself.

"Oddish, use Sleep Powder on Ash," the professor called out a small blue pokemon with green leaves growing from the top of the pokemon's head.

"I want to get my revenge don't deny me of it!" Ash yelled as he began to nod off, his resistance started to weaken, he nodded off still muttering for Dawn, "I lost everything," Ash started to cry, falling asleep.

"Professor what do we do with this guy?" the soldier asked the professor calmly. Still recovering from the punch he had taken from the trainer.

"We need to explain to him the situation, we also need to find a way of calming him," the second soldier explained.

"Well then I will do all the explaining, since he does blame us for the loss of his fiancé," a man wearing a blue shirt and pants walked up to his soldiers, "you guys continue searching for the enemy," the commander enforced his command on the soldiers.

Saluting promptly, they stood at attention and in unison, "yes sir!" the soldiers replied.

"Professor Rowan, we had a lot of trouble finding the remaining survivors of the town," the commander regretfully announced.

"A regrettable situation, the Seven Shadow Lords aren't making it easy on us," The regional professor proclaimed grabbing at his moustache.

Another soldier appeared infront of the leaders, saluting promptly, "sirs the Princess of Sinnoh has escaped from her father, reconnaissance tells us she is being chased by one of the Seven Shadow Lords and they are heading towards Veilstone City," the soldier informed the professor and his commander.

"Send a small force to rescue the princess," the commander ordered his spy, he looked down on the sleeping trainer, "we might need to tie him up, explaining the situation isn't going to be easy," the commander repeated what the professor had said with a frown.

**(3 hours later)**

Ash woke up to find himself tied to a chair, he did his best to break free, but there was no use, he looked around, a table right in front of him and a plate of food, "ah you're awake, good, now I think we can have a chat," the commander stated while Ash glared at him, "I know, you want revenge, but let me ask you what price are you willing to pay? Will it be worth it? And most of all, what will you do afterwards?" the commander asked the young man.

"Why ask me those questions? It isn't like you lost everything," Ash made his retort, he sat back and turned his head away from the commanding officer.

"I see, so you don't want to talk, that's too bad, here I was going to ask you a favour," the commander replied, he grabbed the plate of food and pulled it further away from Ash, "you see, you want information, I can provide it, but you need to do something for the Sinnoh region," the man requested of Ash.

"Just leave in peace, I have no interest in helping anyone," Ash replied, Ash watched the commanding officer leave the room.

Outside the room the commander was talking to one of his trusted advisors, trying to come up with a plan to get Ash to help them, "sir, we cannot delay, the Seven Shadow Lords are hunting the Sinnoh princess down, we need to move her to Canalave City where she will be safe," the advisor explained the situation to her commander.

"Maybe there is something I can do," the commander remarked as he looked back in the room, he opened the door and placed the plate back on the table, "my name is Blake South, I am the commander of this small force, now, how about this, I untie you and you can eat, then you will let me explain the situation," the man known as Blake suggested to Ash who was still unwilling to cooperate.

"I am not hungry," Ash replied turning his head away from the man.

"Listen, unless you want to be force feed, you need to listen to what I have to tell you," Blake informed Ash as he grabbed the fork and placed it on the table, "I am not your enemy, but I can respect the fact that you don't want to be my friend, but right now," the man walked over to the chair and untied Ash's hands allowing him to get his food.

"Shut up, I am going to get my revenge on those who were responsible," Ash sneered at the commander.

"Young man, I know what it's like to lose everything, I know what revenge is like, it isn't worth the cost," Blake tried his best to explain to Ash, but the trainer pushed the plate aside.

"You have lost everything you claim?" Ash questioned the man not even wanting to look at him.

"You see my right hand, well this isn't even a real hand, I lost it while trying to get revenge as well as various other injuries I had suffered, I lost my family because of the people we are fighting against," Blake explained his situation to Ash, he moved the plate back towards the angry trainer, "I know you want to go out there and get revenge, but you need to follow my instructions," Commander Blake instructed Ash as he walked towards the window.

"Why should I? I still blame you for what happened," Ash answered back as he grabbed the fork to eat the food.

"If I were your enemy, would I be happy to give you food?" Blake questioned the trainer with a serious tone.

"No you wouldn't unless this food is poisoned," Ash snapped back at the soldier.

"Okay, we tied you up to keep you restrained, now eat the food and I will tell you everything about the Seven Shadow Lords," Blake ordered the trainer.

Ash ate the food, glaring at the commander, he waited for him to start the story, wondering what was going on, "you know, I want to know more about these people," Ash said with a much calmer disposition. He pushed the plate aside and watched the commander sit on the opposite side of the table.

"Alright, now that you are a little calmer, time for me to explain a little more to you," Blake explained to Ash, placing his hands on the table he pulled out a set of photographs of the people in question, mostly wearing black but with a dark aura around them, "these are the Seven Shadow Lords."

"Wait I only count six," Ash replied as he glared at the pictures.

"Yes, there is one we don't know about, our guess is he is being held back," the leader of the Unova forces replied, he moved a picture forward of a man holding a large bag of money, "this man is named Greed, at the moment this guy is chasing someone, we are doing our best to save this person, because from what we can understand this person is linked to problems within the Sinnoh Royal family," Blake explained the situation to Ash.

"What do you mean?" Ash asked looking at the other photos of the other members.

Blake pointed towards the picture of an attractive woman with long brown hair, wearing a red dress, "this woman is known as Lust, be careful with this one, she uses her good looks to attract men, her teammate is this person," the commander explained while pointing towards the male member of the group, "his name is Envy, they use each other's traits really well, while Lust uses her good looks to attract other people Envy plays on the other people's jealousy to their advantage, then it is all divide and conquer for them," Blake continued to explain to the trainer.

"Okay, so far you have only told me three of them, who is this person?" Ash asked while looking over to the large man, had a lazy expression on his face.

"Sloth, lazy but powerful, don't let this person's lazy demeanour deceive you," Blake informed the trainer. He looked over to the next person, "this is Gluttony, don't let his appearance fool you, he can eat vast quantities of food, but also has an appetite for destruction as well," and then towards the last photo after explaining the previous member to Ash, "this is their leader, his name is Pride, he can dent a person's pride and is rather partial on playing on a person's sense of pride as well," Blake explained the leader of the Seven Shadow Lords.

"Wait a second what Wrath?" Ash asked the commander.

"We know very little about this member, not even a picture of that member was ever taken, we suspect that Wrath is being chained up because his anger is too great for the Seven Shadow Lords to control," Blake replied with a concerned expression. Blake pulled the pictures into one pile, "did you know there are seven deadly sins, and that the people we were talking about are named after those seven sins?"

"So who is Greed chasing after?" Ash asked the commander with a frown.

"Princess Salvia," Blake answered, he looked up to see a shocked expression on Ash's face, "you know her?" Blake asked the trainer.

Ash pulled out a photo of him and Dawn, "this is a picture of me with my fiancé, but the person you are looking for looks exactly like Dawn," Ash replied while pointing at Dawn.

"A doppelganger, so that explains why you lost Dawn, the enemy thought they were killing the princess," Blake placed his hand on his chin, he walked up to the picture and grabbed it, "do you mind if I borrow this picture? Our men need the information to save the princess," Blake enquired, he walked out not even getting a response from Ash who was still upset with what was going on, 'poor lad, I hope he pulls through this,' the leader thought to himself after closing the door behind him.

**(West of Veilstone City)**

It had been five days since Salvia escaped from her confines in the palace, she looked back hoping that she wasn't being followed by Greed and his men, "I better not stop walking," Salvia tiredly reminded herself, she continued on, seemingly having not slept for some time, as she was walking the clouds in the sky grew dark and the first rumbles of thunder could be heard in the distance. Salvia was on her own following the path that was lined by trees and grassy patches.

"Hmmm it seems like the beautiful young princess has been passed here," Greed looked around trying to find the royal, "she should know that once she becomes a target, there is no escape from the person's demise," Greed shrugged his shoulder with a shake of his head, he looked around again and sighed, "come on Princess make it easy on us, you don't want us to harm the people of Veilstone, don't be so greedy!" Greed taunted the princess as his troops remained silent.

Salvia peered through the tree line hoping that she was able to escape from the pursuers, "this is bad, I am now too tired to even escape," Salvia whispered to herself.

A man appeared behind her, placing her hand over her mouth to keep her quiet, "don't scream, we are here to help, we need to get you out of here," the soldier informed the princess.

The soldier lowered his hand and allowed the princess to breathe, "what do you mean? We are trapped," Salvia enquired as she pointed towards the people pursuing her.

"Come on out Alakazam," the soldier called out a humanoid pokemon with two spoons.

Upon seeing the light Greed approached the area and spotted the princess, "ah nice to see you princess, now you hand her over," Greed smirked at the soldiers, who were preparing to leave the area.

"And what let you assassinate this young royal?" the soldier asked the shadow lord, "not a chance, Alakazam, take us to Hearthome City," the Soldier told his pokemon, the group teleported away from Greed and his men.

Gritting his teeth in frustration the Shadow Lord kicked the dirt off the ground as it started to rain, "man Pride is not going to be pleased, oh well at least we have our puppet in the king," Greed whispered to himself, he turned back towards the city thinking of another plan.

"Pride knew you would fail this simple task," a woman approached her teammate.

Greed looked over his shoulder to see Lust approaching him, "whatever, why did I have to get slugged with a pitiful task of hunting down the princess, don't you think we already have enough to deal with concerning the king?" Greed questioned his comrade.

"Pride also told me, that if you returned without the princess, well I guess you don't want to know what Pride will do if he found out you failed," Lust informed the other Shadow Lord, she turned away from the angry man, "he told me don't show your face without fulfilling your mission," Lust instructed the man, the rain started to get heavier as the woman left with laughter making the other Shadow Lord much angrier than he was previously.

"Damn you Lust and Pride, just you two wait I will stab you both in the back then take lead," Greed hit the tree next to him, he looked over his shoulder to see what was on the horizon, "alright, we move out, we continue our chase of the princess!" Greed informed his men, recommencing the chase of the young royal.

Meanwhile in Hearthome City Salvia and the three soldiers appeared infront of the pokemon centre, "I need some sleep," Salvia informed the soldiers.

"I am sorry ma'am, but we need to take to the air and get to Canalave City next," the soldier refused the request of the princess, he recalled his psychic pokemon, "when we reach our destination, then you can get the sleep you need, even the food you require," the soldier assured the princess as his team called out four Salamence, "now get on Salamence we will fly on either side of you as well as behind to make sure you get there safely," the officer ordered the princess.

"Why do I need to be protected?" the princess asked the soldier.

"You are a marked woman, if the Seven Shadow Lords catch you, you will be killed on the spot," the soldier answered, greatly shocking the young royal.

"Seven Shadow Lords? I have never heard of them before," Salvia confessed still uncertain as to how to react.

"We just call them the Seven Shadows for short, the one that was chasing you is called Greed," the Soldier replied with a frown, the four dragon type pokemon took off leaving the surrounding people in awe at what was going on, "they also said that you needed to hand yourself over, sadly that would have achieved nothing," the man informed the princess who was looking down on the back of the pokemon she was riding on with guilt.

"So, giving up would have been for nothing, then what am I supposed to do?" Salvia asked the soldier with frustration, clenching her fists helpless in the situation.

"We will brief you on the situation when we reach Canalave, thankfully a friend of yours was able to help us find you," the soldier explained to the young royal.

"A friend, was that Lady Dawn?" Salvia asked with a more relieved smile, the soldier shook his head and looked away at the same time, "so it must have been sir Ash, but why so sad?" the blue haired princess enquired about the situation.

"We have received information from this Ash, that Dawn was killed in the attack on Twinleaf Town," the soldier replied much to the dismay of the young royal.

Salvia lowered herself as tears started to fall down her cheeks, "no, it can't be, why Lady Dawn?" Salvia cried as she hit the pokemon overcome with sadness, "why did you attack?" Salvia asked the soldiers as her sadness turned into anger which was directed at the soldiers.

"We didn't fire a shot we were trying our best to rescue the people, as well as reorganise the defence of Sinnoh, the attack came from within your armed forces," the Unova soldier informed the princess much the her displeasure.

"That's not true," Salvia snapped back, but she looked away from the soldiers and turned her attention ahead of the pokemon, "why would the Sinnoh army do that," Salvia cried as she hit the powerful dragon, but Salamence didn't feel the hit and continued to fly on the directed path.

"Listen, we will tell you everything, but you need to realise that the Sinnoh forces weren't exactly on the Sinnoh side at all, in fact we believe that the Seven Shadows were responsible for the attack on Twinleaf Town," the soldier explained while the four people continued riding the mighty dragon on the way to safety.

"Sir, what about Professor Rowan?" the soldier on the left asked his commanding officer.

"Well at the moment, I don't think he has any concerns about his own safety, but the enemy is currently after the princess," the leader of the group informed the subordinates as the princess listened in, still not able to believe in why this was all happening.

**(Near Jubilife City)**

Ash looked back again, still not believing he was released even after punching a soldier, "I still hate you," Ash reminded the commander, but the leader of the group remained calm and accepted it, "but to tell you the truth, I don't want to even see the princess, not after what has happened," Ash proclaimed as he started walking on his own towards the major city.

"I understand, oh there is one more thing, about Lust, she can shape shift into someone we love the most, be careful," Blake told Ash as he left for the city, "another thing, do not go to any other location other than Canalave City, we need to tell you more about the enemy," Blake informed Ash, the trainer ignored the commander and walked into the city, 'plus you aren't in the right frame of mind to tackle these foes,' Blake thought to himself concerned about the mental state of Ash.

Ash looked to the left again hoping that Dawn would be there for him, he instinctively put his hand on his left shoulder hoping that his partner pokemon was there, but as he did reality soon hit, he was alone, in the busy city that he and Dawn first visited on their journey together, pulling out the photo of Dawn and him spending time together both happy in the picture, "I lost something that I will never get back, those Seven Shadow Lords will be made to suffer for this," Ash announced his intentions, walking towards the western side of the major city.

Thinking back to what Blake was saying about the Seven Shadow Lords, 'remember Ash, these people don't care how many people are in the way, all they care about is twisting the world with their own desires,' Blake's words rang in Ash's mind, 'they also know how to injure a person mentally, at the moment, you are mentally injured,' Blake's words reverberated through his mind.

"Damn you Blake, what am I supposed to do?" Ash kept questioning himself as he looked around to find the people walking through the city ignorant of what was happening.

'Ash I know what it is like to lose people close to you, I lost my family because of those Shadow Lords,' Blake's words continued to play back in his mind, taking a deep breath Ash walked slowly towards the western exit of the city, 'don't throw away your life so recklessly!' the final instruction of Blake played back in the trainer's mind.

"I want to help people out, yet how am I supposed to help others out when I couldn't help the woman I love and her Piplup as well as Pikachu, mom and Johanna?" doubt filled Ash's mind, he looked back over his shoulder, his world completely shattered by the actions of an evil team, 'they did something that not even Team Rocket could do, they stole something that I can never get back," Ash reminded himself as he remembered the harsh reality that Blake stated, "once someone has died, I cannot bring them back to life," Ash told himself as he exited the busy streets of Jubilife city.

After exiting the city Ash walked towards where the sea started, he listened carefully as the waves crashed on the shore, four large pokemon flew over him, heading towards Canalave City, "I guess I better figure out what to do next," Ash commented as he started to think about the friendship between Salvia and Dawn, 'those two were really close friends almost like sisters, how will the princess take the loss of Dawn?' Ash questioned himself as he walked towards the bridge that led to Canalave City.

Heading to the destination, Ash could sense that something was about to happen, the trees started to sway in the sea breeze and the waters gently lapped on the side of the bridge, the Wingulls flew overhead where the flying pokemon shot through the air, Ash was dreading the meeting with the princess knowing that he had the difficult task of telling her what had happened, 'I have a long day tomorrow,' Ash thought to himself looking towards the sea where the sun was setting over the horizon.

* * *

**The truth of the Seven Shadow Lords comes to light, but the reality hits both Ash and Salvia really hard, their meeting will be full of emotion knowing the truth behind the loss of the person closest to them.**

**Next up Chapter 3: Short Lived Peace**

**If you are all interested, I have actually written 6 chapters to this story, that including the final chapter. so parts of this story have basically been written. also this will be the last chapter for the year for any story, I will be releasing chapters for the other stories some time in the first 7 days of the new year. **


	3. Short Lived Peace

**Chapter 3: Short Lived Peace.**

_**Summary: **__Ash and Salvia meet for the first time in years, but they cannot even talk to one another, but new information is shed on the situation, by an unexpected source._

* * *

Greed was looking over his shoulder to see the small force he was commanding follow him, "hmmm these guys need to go, better ring up Blake," Greed whispered as he continued his path towards Solaceon Town. The soldiers he was commanding remained unaware of Greed's intentions.

"Sir we are heading towards Solaceon Town," the soldier clad in black informed the leader calmly.

"Yeah I know, you guys wait here, I am going to look around," Greed replied as he moved into the town on his own, leaving his soldiers to set up camp. Greed looked over his shoulder thinking about how to get rid of the soldiers that have been keeping an eye on him, 'once I get rid of these losers I can inform Blake of the developments,' Greed thought about his mission.

Greed walked into the empty Pokemon Centre and walked over to the front counter and placed Nurse Joy into a quick slumber, he turned his attention to one of the phones and approached it, 'let's hope Blake isn't going too far in our plans,' Greed once again glanced over his shoulder to see if he was being followed.

Greed pressed the number in hoping to get a hold of his ally, "Greed, what are you doing, you aren't supposed to be calling in a Pokemon Centre, what if the enemy is spying on you? Blake blasted the Shadow Lord.

"Yeah I know, but the problems are getting worse, I cannot keep much contact," Greed informed Blake of the growing situation, "pretending that I am on their side still is proving difficult," Greed told the commander as he looked over his shoulder yet again, the empty pokemon centre was proving to be a difficult place to keep quiet in, since he also knew that Pride's men was watching him as well.

"Listen Greed, you are being foolish if you think Pride doesn't know what you are doing," Blake remarked much to the displeasure of Greed, "Salvia is heading to Canalave City," Blake informed his spy.

"You do realise that will not be a safe location for her, the other Shadow Lords already know where she is heading, they are sending a small force towards Jubilife City," Greed admitted to the commander.

"Thanks, but you need to be careful, your act can only last so long," Blake replied with a smile.

"Yeah I know, how about I pretend I attack Canalave City and make it look like I killed the princess that should be enough to throw Pride and his team off," Greed suggested a plan, "but first, I need the soldiers that I command out of my way," Greed whispered knowing that the soldiers were peering through the window.

"It will not be easy a young man is assigned to protect her, plus he is after your head as well as the heads of the other Seven Shadow Lords," Blake informed the traitor in the enemy, "you look like you are asking why, simple his fiancé was killed during the attack on Twinleaf Town, he told me he was being chased and the woman looks like the princess," the commander explained to Greed who was shocked to hear this news.

"What, you mean the guy that was being chased in Twinleaf, I was fighting one of the members of the Seven Shadow Lords at the time, you mean I accidently killed someone?" guilt sounded from Greeds voice. Glancing over his shoulder, "better go now, I will see you soon," Greed ended the call after spotting someone outside the Pokemon Centre.

Outside the medical facility a mysterious person with his back to the wall watched Greed exiting the facility, "I knew it Greed is a traitor, Pride isn't going to be happy," the person said before leaving the sight without being noticed by the man.

"Better hurry up, my cover was blown, they are going to chase after me now," Greed whispered to himself, the rogue member of the Seven Shadow Lords rushed off leaving his men behind.

**(Canalave City)**

Ash walked into the port city on his own, remaining quiet his thoughts were all over the place, ignoring the people who were walking through the streets with their shopping bags in hand, talking to one another ignorant of the problems that were growing in their very own region, 'Blake said there was a double agent in the Seven Shadow Lords, but who is it?' Ash questioned the leader's comments, flashbacks played back in his mind about the loss of Twinleaf Town.

"Excuse me sir, is your name Ash?" one of the soldiers asked the young man, "if so, the please follow me to the Canalave Hotel," the soldier instructed Ash quietly.

"Why?" Ash asked the man, glaring at him with a suspicious expression.

"We have someone that knows you, plus Commander Blake wants you to rest up, tomorrow you and the princess will be learning more about the Shadow Lords," the Soldiers informed Ash, but Ash turned away and walked towards the exit, "sir, you cannot leave, the orders of Blake are absolute, you will be getting the chance to meet the double agent tomorrow as well," the man informed the trainer but he ignored him as he walked back to the eastern exit of the city.

"I don't want to meet the princess," Ash replied coldly.

"Oh right, forgot, she looks like his dead fiancé," the young soldier remembered the words of his commander.

"I will be camping outside the city on my own," Ash proclaimed his intentions, he left the soldier wondering what he was going to do next.

"It must have really hurt him losing someone you love," the Soldier whispered as he watched the raven haired man running off into the distance through the busy streets of Canalave City.

The soldier walked back to the hotel on his own, he turned his focus to one of his comrades who was sitting on a chair in next to the door of a room, "so is he here?" the guard asked his friend, he nodded and looked out the window at the end of the hall, "so you didn't bring him here," he enquired with a frown.

"No, he ran off," the soldier replied with a solemn tone, changing his attention to the door, "is the princess still sleeping?" Placing his hand on his head the soldier wanted to know how the two people were going to follow their lives after the disastrous loss of the people closest to them

"Yeah, she is resting, but she also needs to eat as well, she hasn't eaten properly in four days, the doctor is concerned for her wellbeing," the guard informed his teammate with a concerned expression.

"And the mental state of Ash isn't looking much better, I fear he might lash out on our double agent tomorrow," the man explained while walking towards the stairwell.

Meanwhile outside Canalave City Ash had set up a small tent as well as a fire, sitting on a log he reflected on the past, his partner pokemon and family, Dawn and the adventures with her, he took a deep breath, still trying his best to digest what had happened, still asking why and what happened, "it was meant to be the happiest day of my life and yet, it was stolen from me," Ash started talking to himself.

"You know talking to yourself is a sign of madness?" a mysterious voice echoed from the woods behind Ash.

Ash immediately turned to find no one was in the area, "must be my imagination," Ash whispered as he turned back to the fire, seeing another image of him and Dawn, as the fire crackled he noticed the image of Dawn turning to him and winking, Ash fell of the log and with a startled expression he approached the fire, "Dawn?" Ash asked but the image soon vanished from sight, "I must be pretty darn tired," Ash commented, he got up and walked to the tent, he opened up and glanced over his shoulder, "it must be my imagination," Ash said as he entered for his night's sleep.

In the very early hours the next Salvia was getting up after a long nap, she stretched out her arms and looked out the window, in a pink nightgown the princess looked out towards the quiet streets of the city, she looked down to see a strange person walking around. After quickly getting changed Salvia snuck out of her room, which was being guarded, but the guards were sound asleep, tip toeing towards the steps she looked back once more hoping that the people guarding her wouldn't notice that she was gone.

The blue haired royal walked down the steps into the empty foyer, she looked around yet again hoping that she wouldn't be caught, she slowly walked out of the hotel and tried to find the strange person, "whoever that is, must know what is going on," Salvia reminded herself, she entered the streets not worrying about the danger of the Seven Shadow Lords.

"You know, you shouldn't be walking the empty streets at night on your own," a male voice emanated from behind.

The princess looked back to see a man with a dark smile, "who are you?" Salvia asked the strange man.

"Me? I am Greed, I quickly made my way here," Greed replied as he approached the royal.

"You were the one chasing after me, how did you know I was here?" Salvia forced the next question onto Greed.

"Simple, I am a double agent, I pretend to work for The Seven Shadow Lords, but in reality I actually work for you, I knew where you were coming, but unfortunately I am going to have a very difficult time explaining the death of your friend to her fiancé," Greed lamented the death of Dawn.

"You mean you killed my best friend?" Salvia growled at the Shadow Lord.

Greed lowered his head in shame before feeling the burning sensation of Salvia's hand making contact, "I deserved that, it was an accident, I was fighting to defend the town and one of the people I am pretending to side with was battling me with one of my pokemon, when my pokemon was tackled to the ground he let loose an attack that was intended for that pokemon, sadly the stray attack was the very same attack that killed your friend," Greed explained what had happened to Dawn.

"You are a Shadow Lord, those kinds of people hold no guilt over how many people get killed!" Salvia yelled at the person who was working for her, "if you seriously cared then why aren't you…" Salvia started to question the man, but as she was about to finish the question, he ran off with a concerned expression, leaving the young royal puzzled by Greed's action, "odd," Salvia whispered.

Salvia turned back to the hotel and walked slowly up to the large building, glancing over her shoulder once again, seeing that no one was wondering the streets on their own, "thought I saw someone," Salvia muttered quietly, trying her best to figure out what she was being told by the person she thought was her enemy.

Feeling conflicted because of what she was told, she walked slowly up the stairs, thinking about who her enemies were and who were her friends, "I don't know what to think anymore," Salvia uttered as she walked up to her room which the guard was still sleeping in front of.

Upon entering her room the princess walked over to her bed. Sitting down she placed her hands on her laps and started to cry for the loss of her friend.

Meanwhile Ash woke up and sat up, he opened the tent and peered out, the wild pokemon were running around with the hopes of finding food, he looked at the gates of the city and started thinking about what he needed to do, "maybe I am being selfish," Ash thought to himself as he continued to keep his eyes glued on the city.

While packing up his equipment Ash started thinking about what could have been, "if only I was stronger," Ash berated himself.

"You know beating yourself up will not bring the people closest to you back," the voice sounded from the forest again.

Ash quickly turned around and found that no one was there, "who's there? Who are you? Show yourself!" Ash demanded quickly, but no response was given to him, "great now I am hearing things," Ash muttered with frustration, feeling like he was being watched by someone, he walked to where he thought the voices were coming from, he pushed the shrubs aside to find that no one was there, "where are the voices coming from? The only person here is me," Ash hissed as he tried to find the person telling him all this stuff.

Ash looked back and spotted an image of someone standing on the spot where he was packing, "hey you," Ash called out, but the human shaped figure ran towards the city, he gave chase to the person entering the city at the same time, he stopped and grabbed a person by the arm, "excuse me did you see a person run by here a second ago?" Ash asked the citizen of the city.

"No, hardly anyone is awake," the man replied, Ash let go of the arm and let the man walk by.

"Is my mind playing tricks on me? Is Blake right? I am not in the right mentality to even help myself out?" more questions flowed from Ash's mind and out of his mouth as the city started to wake up, before Ash could start walking back to his camp he spotted the shady figure again, calling out to it the figure ran towards the bridge midway through the city, Ash ran to the figure until it vanished in front of the library, "was it leading me here?" Ash asked himself, he walked inside to find only a few people inside reading.

"Alright I will be making sure I get all the information…." Salvia walked into the library and immediately stopped upon seeing Ash.

The two friends turned around forcing an awkward silence between them, they each tried to say something, but no words would sound from their respective mouth, Ash turned around and walked towards the next floor hoping that the princess would leave the area, "what are you doing here?" Ash asked coldly.

Salvia remained quiet unable to answer the question, her efforts to make a response was all but useless, turning around towards the door she started walking to the exit, "I-I….heard about what happened," Salvia replied rushing out the door, leaving a shocked trainer shaking in anger.

Salvia walked towards the docks looking out to sea, she was still lost as to what to say to the visibly upset trainer, placing her hands next to her she started to think about the friendship between her and Dawn. "We both lost someone we care about," Salvia whispered feeling the wind whip her long blue hair around.

"Listen, you need to go out and talk to her," one of the soldiers informed the trainer.

"No, I don't feel like it," Ash replied with a saddened tone.

"She knows what happened to her, don't let her appearance prevent you from doing what is right, she lost her best friend too," the man informed Ash, but the sentiments were ignored, Ash walked towards the centre of the library and took a seat, the solider approached Ash and turned the chair around, "listen you little bastard, bad things happen, you cannot let that drag you down," the man growled at the young trainer who was looking at the ground with disdain.

"I know, but she looks like her," Ash stated with a painful expression.

"That might be the case, but the princess is a different person," the comforting soldier continued to tell Ash what he needed to here.

Ash got out of his seat and walked towards the exit, "fine I will talk to her," Ash replied with a slight hint of disdain. Upon exiting the library, Ash scanned the area to find Salvia was sitting on the nearest dock, he slowly approached the docks, scratching his head and taking a deep breath at the same time, 'why did this have to happen, now I need to talk to Dawn's look-a-like,' Ash started to complain to himself about even talking to Salvia.

"I just wish I knew what was going on," Salvia whispered as she heard the footsteps of someone approaching her, "you know Ash, your wedding was supposed to happen at the palace," Salvia informed Ash without even taking a glance back.

"The first I heard of it," Ash replied quietly, he sat at one side of the docks not wanting to make eye contact with the princess, Ash looked down at the water, thinking about what he had heard, "so you found out about what happened to Dawn," Ash enquired solemnly.

"Yes, I found out yesterday, I was being chased by someone by the name of Greed," Salvia replied, looking down at the water, taking the time to think about what Greed had told her.

"He is one of the Seven Shadow Lords, they are responsible for what happened," Ash clenched his fists, his blame directed at the Shadow Lords.

'How can I tell Ash that one of them is on our side?' Salvia asked the trainer, "there is information that we need to know, after we get the information," Salvia started as she stood up to turn to the library.

"We can make a plan for the next move from there," Ash replied, waiting for the princess to leave the docks, still not wanting to look at the young royal.

"I lost my home Ash, I cannot go there anymore, because I don't feel safe there at all," Salvia informed the trainer much to his shock.

Ash finally looked over his left shoulder to find Salvia walking back to the library, he moved his hands in front of him and stared at them for a moment, "she has also lost her home, and I have lost everything," Ash whispered to himself, slowly getting up Ash dragged his feet across the pier as he made his way back to the library.

Looking down from the third floor window of the library, Greed was watching Ash walking towards the library, "you know what will be the difficult thing, telling him I am on his side," Greed informed the soldier.

"Well you are a Shadow Lord after all, you cannot expect him to be so forgiving," the soldier retorted as he also looked out the window to see Ash and Salvia walking back but separated from one another.

Greed walked towards the table and grabbed a seat, he looked at the photo and frowned at his own actions, "I know the Shadow Lords don't know what it's like to be guilty, but now I have a small idea of what it is like," Greed stated thinking about his own actions in Twinleaf Town, "if I knew that there were innocent people at the edge of the town, I would have held back my attack," Greed remarked quietly as he heard the door opening.

"You see Greed that is what guilt feels like, you lament your actions, yet you have no idea how to make it up for the people you have hurt," the soldier replied with a smile.

"Truth is, I don't know if I can make up for the errors I made in the past," Greed placed the picture in his pocket, he took a deep breath and waited for the barrage of abuse from the trainer, "listen if that man starts yelling at, don't stop him, I will just have to take it," Greed informed the soldier calmly knowing what was about to happen.

"Of course," the soldier replied with a smile.

Ash walked into the room and spotted a familiar face, suddenly a memory appeared in his thoughts the picture he had seen in Sandgem Town, of one of the Seven Shadow Lords, his anger soon overcame him he rushed up to Greed and grabbed him by the collar, "how dare you show your face here!" Ash berated the Shadow Lord, picking him up off the chair Ash pushed him against the wall with Greed looking away not wanting to see the anger being vented at him, "it was your fault what happened in Twinleaf Town!" Ash yelled out while pulling his left fist back preparing to punch Greed.

"It was an accident, I was actually defending the town, when one of my comrades attacks me and my pokemon," Greed tried to explain himself.

"Nice story, you were still there! Oh it isn't like bastards like you to care about people getting in the way!" Ash continued his anger while punching the Shadow Lord with a vicious left hand, Greed just took the hit without retaliating, "you killed my fiancé, my mother, Pikachu, Johanna and Piplup! They did nothing to you!" Ash yelled out before hitting the Shadow Lord again with another left handed punch.

"I know it isn't much of a consolation, but I am sorry, I will try to make it up to you and the princess somehow," Greed stated with a sigh, taking another punch from the angry trainer.

"I don't want your pity, all I want back is the ones you took from me," Ash started to cry, letting go of his grip, Greed cupped his face trying to cover up the pain he was in.

Greed placed his right hand on Ash's left shoulder, "bringing people and the ones closest to you back is impossible, once a person or pokemon die, they cannot be brought back to life," Greed answered Ash's request, "now please sit down so I can give you and the princess the information you need to know, Blake informed you about the Shadow Lords, but he didn't tell you about the goals," Greed told Ash and the princess as they both sat down, Ash now feeling more composed, but still angry about what had happened.

"Alright tell us everything, I still need to get my revenge on you and the other Shadow Lords," Ash retorted feeling visibly shaken up after he vented out his rage on Greed.

"I am actually a rogue of the Shadow Lords, I work as a double agent, I provide false information for the Shadow Lords while I give proper information to Blake and to people like you," Greed started with his mission, "albeit I am after a profit, such is my nature," Greed smirked.

"I know, you embody one of the seven sins right?" Salvia asked the Shadow Lord.

"Yes," Greed replied to the princess, "now back to their mission, you both know that the Shadow Lords don't care how many people get in the way, but that is only part of it," Greed pulled out a map of the Sinnoh Region, he showed them the attacks on Towns and Cities, "you see everything has a centre right, here is the centre," Greed pointed to the part of the map.

Salvia placed her hands over her mouth, gasping in shock at what was being revealed to her, "Arrowroot Town?" Salvia questioned Greed, she got up and stepped back, falling to her knees and now visibly shaken up, "no it cannot be, why my palace?" Salvia started to asked the Shadow Lord.

"Sadly Princess, that is only part of the problem, your father the King is actually a puppet of the other Shadow Lords, to make matter worse, their mission is to destroy the kingdoms of the world and rule the world with Arrowroot Town as the centre," Greed explained the goal of his former comrades to Ash and Salvia.

"Wait, so why aren't you following that goal?" Ash asked glaring at the Shadow Lord.

"Well, let's just say we had a conflict of interest," Greed replied while rolling up the map of the Sinnoh region, "my mission was a little different to them, I decided it would be best to protect life, not destroy it," Greed answered Ash's question, but it still wasn't enough to convince Ash. Before Greed could make another comment a powerful explosion rumbled through the streets causing people to scream out in horror, "oh no they're here, you two need to leave this place," Greed rushed out the door, getting ready to fight the enemy.

"I am not going anywhere!" Ash yelled at the Shadow Lord, following him out of the room and towards the explosion.

Outside Greed was standing near the bridge looking around, "my, oh my well if it isn't our little traitor," a female voice emanated from the smoke, "you hear that Greed, the sound of screaming people running for their lives is music to my ears," Lust appeared from the smoke as another person walked out.

"So it has been a while, we have here, Lust and Envy, sorry for ditching you losers, but I certainly have no interest in fighting for Pride anymore," Greed smirked at his foes.

"Stop right there, perfect, you three are in the same place at the same time, now I will deal with all three of you at the same time," Ash stood at one end of the bridge, preparing to get involved in the fight.

"You Idiot, I told you to leave, I will meet you and the Princess at the decided destination, now go, while I hold these bastards back!" Greed ordered Ash.

"I am not leaving!" Ash snapped back, but before he could walk across the bridge, Greed called for one of his pokemon to destroy the bridge preventing Ash from getting across, "why?!" Ash yelled out in anger, questioning the actions of Greed.

"You are in no condition to fight, leave now with the Princess," Greed instructed Ash, this time focusing on the foes ahead of him, "I promise I will make up for my actions, but I cannot do that if you or the princess get killed," Greed confessed his intentions to Ash with the princess listening in as she approached the trainer.

The two watched Greed and his pokemon charging in for the fight, the angry Ash still wondering what to do next, he hesitantly turned towards the ships with Salvia running next to him, getting to one of the ships as the explosions of the battle flooded city, "great, when I feel like I was getting the chance to get payback, the person I thought was my enemy is helping us escape, I am so unreliable," Ash whispered to himself.

"Come on Ash, we need to escape, we can fight when the time is right," Salvia informed the furious Ash, he punched the railing as the soldier watched the two get on the ship, "soldier why aren't you getting on the ship?" Salvia asked the soldier.

"This is where I need to be, Ash Ketchum right? You stay be the side of the princess," the soldier ordered the trainer, as the ship was starting to embark on the journey to the next destination, it was rocked by another powerful explosion, slowly making its way out of the port as the violent battle escalated on the eastern side of the city.

Ash hit the ship's railings frustrated at not being able to do anything, Salvia watched Ash hitting the railing, "I cannot do anything!" Ash yelled helpless with the situation, "and now I am stuck," Ash turned to the young royal who was fearing what Ash was going to say next, "baby sitting you," Ash pointed his finger to the blue haired royal.

Salvia now feeling a little upset with Ash's comments, "you know, I can look after myself," Salvia retorted with sorrow, the ship slowly making it out of the docks and eventually out towards the open sea, "it isn't like I asked you to look after me," Salvia informed Ash, but also knew that there was nothing they could do about the situation.

Ash looked over to the scene of the battle where they were forced to flee, "I will still get my revenge," Ash announced to the princess, walking passed her as he did he leant in and whispered into her ear, "don't get in my way," the cold whispered made the young royal shudder in fear.

* * *

**Being forced to flee from a battle, Ash and Salvia must find a way to get along. With Greed fighting on their side to atone for his sins, how will his intentions help bring down his former comrades?**

**Next up chapter 4: Ghosts of the present.**

_**The romance between Ash and Salvia isn't really all that important, but it will be a slow developing thing as the story continues, but it will start off one sided sometime in the story.**_

_**AN: there is the possiblity of some major delays in the release of future chapters, the big reason behind this, being in South Australia, i live in a wildfire prone area we are heading into a very dangerous few days, so if things get pear shaped and there is a high likelyhood of it, then the releases might be delayed beyond the next three chapters of this story an almost complete third chapter of Almost Easy 2 and a promised closing to Blaze and Glory.**_

_**I appologise in advance for not keeping my word on this, but man it is stinking hot where I live at the moment.**_


	4. Ghosts of the Present

**Chapter 4: Ghosts of the present.**

_**Summary: **__Ash and Salvia have escaped from the starting fight, but as they reflect back on the past, they receive an unexpected visit by someone's spirit, who could it be? And what does this spirit want with Ash and Salvia?_

* * *

"You know that when I leave here, I will be planning to destroy the Shadow Lords," Greed taunted his former comrades with a smirk, he charged towards Envy, tackling him to the ground, he waited for the Shadow Lord to get back up, raising his right fist, then punching him with all his might, "personally, you were the one I hated the most, talking with that jealous tone, in fact, you really pissed me off," Greed admitted to Envy, kicking the Shadow Lord making him roll over in pain.

"You hated me? It seems like you were the one jealous of me," Envy slowly got up grasping his left side, panting as the former member started laughing at him, "what is so funny traitor?" Envy asked the traitorous member of the Shadow Lords.

"I wasn't jealous of anyone, in fact, I hated the fact that all of you were fools, but I guess there is something I need to confess," Greed answered Envy as he charged again towards Envy, "I have been working for the princess and she didn't know it, in fact, I have been feeding the enemy with information on your plans as well as giving you false information," Greed admitted to Envy as he stared in shock, flinching before being decked once more, "I made sure that your most recent plans failed, all I wanted was to atone for my sins, yet, that will not be an easy task," Greed confessed, thinking about Ash and Salvia who were getting further away.

"Oh right, you killed someone important to them, you grasp at the straws, saying it was an accident right, you forget, we don't feel guilt that makes us the perfect soldiers in this world," Envy replied causing Greed to step back, the injured Shadow Lord rushed towards him, pushing him towards the wall as the battle for the city continued, "in fact I am glad I was the one that caused the accident, seeing people suffer after they lose someone important to them is always exhilarating," Envy admitted to Greed, punching him continuously causing parts of the wall to crumble.

Greed placed his arms over his face to cover the flurry of punches, bleeding from the corner of his mouth, he smirked at the Shadow Lord, cleaning some of the blood away he glared at the former teammate, "you know something, I bet you are really pleased that the person you saw earlier isn't here, because if he heard what you just said, I don't think anyone would have stopped him from destroying you, basically I did you a favour by saving your pitiful life, next time, I will just let him hear what you said," Greed explained to Envy his next intentions, laughing at his foe.

"Envy we are pulling back," Lust informed her teammate.

"Well Greed, it seems like you got lucky," Envy remarked as he turned away from his former comrade.

A soldier limped up to Greed who was watching Envy leave the city, "should we follow them?" The soldier asked his ally.

"No, they would be leading us into a trap," Greed walked over to the destroyed bridge, he turned his head at the horizon, "it was a quick warning attack, they are planning something big," Greed whispered as he start to think about Ash and Salvia who were on the ship. "I hope those two are alright."

**(On the ship)**

Ash stood at the front of the ship as it continued to sail towards the mystery destination, Salvia stood in the background shivering from the cold, Ash glanced over his right shoulder and then turned towards the horizon, "you should head inside," Ash informed the princess.

"What about you? You should be getting back inside," Salvia enquired, but Ash ignored her and continued to look out into the distance.

Salvia started walking back into the cabin, leaving Ash to keep staring into the distance, "wait, there is one thing I want to know," Ash called to the young royal.

Salvia turned around, wondering what he was going to say to her, "what's the matter?" Salvia asked softly.

"Greed, he said he was actually working for you, how long have you known about that?" Ash asked the bluenette.

Salvia took a deep breath, looked at the ship's deck and clenched her hands, "since this morning," Salvia replied, she walked into the cabin leaving Ash on his own, looking over her left shoulder once more she started to feel more concerned about the mentality of Ash. Walking into the main foyer Salvia took one more look at Ash, he was still standing at the front of the ship looking into the distance, "he is going to catch a cold," Salvia whispered to herself showing even more concern for him.

The chilling wind picked up as the dark clouds started to roll over the ship, Ash looked up to see a few snowflakes starting to fall on the ship's deck, "I know who they are, but what are they?" Ash asked himself, thinking about the shadow lords that he needed to face, 'it doesn't matter, they stole something that can never be brought back,' Ash thought to himself, not knowing of the concerned young royal standing at the entrance, watching him ponder about his next move, "but then there is Greed, just what does he want?" Ash asked himself crossing his arms he thinking about why Greed was fighting on his side.

'He is thinking too much, he needs to relax,' the princess thought to herself as she turned around to walk to her room, 'the rooms aren't perfect, but they are adequate,' the princess thought to herself thinking about what was happening to her father, "dad, you don't seem to be yourself, why?" Salvia asked herself, remembering what it was like years before the escape from the palace.

Salvia remained on the bed thinking about what her next course of action was going to be, Salvia fell back onto the bed with her arms covering her eyes, "it all happened at the end of last year, that was when things changed," Salvia commented, Salvia put her hand in her left pocket and pulled out a picture from her royal gown, 'just what made him change this much?' Salvia asked herself as she looked at the picture of her and her father smiling at the camera.

Salvia shot up upon hearing a knock on the door, placing her photo back into her pocket she looked over at the door, "Salvia, we need to get some winter clothes," Ash called through the door.

"I know, I will do that as soon as we dock," Salvia replied, the princess walked to the door and fell back on it, pulling out the photo again looking at it, "you know, my father changed last year, I have no idea why," Salvia informed Ash as he stood at other side of the door.

"I have an idea what happened, it must be the Shadow Lords who did it," Ash retorted but Salvia continued to stare at the photo not taking any heed what Ash said, "but what I don't get is Greed," Ash thought back to his actions against one of the Seven Shadow Lords, "did I over react?" Ash asked the princess, feeling guilty from his own actions.

"I don't know Ash, we both lost Lady Dawn, I lost my mother over a year ago, since then my father changed," Salvia answered Ash as she told him about the loss of her own mother, "he became less like the father I love and more of a man more concerned about consolidating power, even going as far as wanting to kill me," Salvia explained her father's recent behaviour.

Ash fell back onto the door, listening to his friend's words, "you know, after hearing you talk, all I can still think about is getting revenge," Ash replied while sitting down, grabbing a photo out from his pocket, seeing the smiling faces of him and Dawn, "in this picture, I was at my happiest, they took that from me," Ash looked at the photo not even making a smile.

"Can I see?" Salvia asked softly.

Ash placed the picture under the door, sliding it through to show the princess, in return Salvia, they each grabbed the respective photos and stared at them for a moment, "you seem happy," the two pointed out in unison, they continued to look at the picture for a moment, not daring to crack a smile.

Ash glanced out the corner of his eye and spotted a shadow flying across the hall, 'what was that?' Ash asked himself as the shadow vanished from sight.

"We are both alone at the moment, so I guess we can both try to help each other out," Salvia tried her best to comfort Ash.

Ash stood up and scanned the area, he started walking to his room, thinking about the picture he had in his left hand, the air inside the hallway started to grow colder, even though the heating was on the raven haired trainer spotted a human shaped figure at the end of the hall, standing, "excuse me, who are you?" Ash asked the person, but the figure never answered, standing on the spot leaving the Kanto native confused as to what to ask next.

Ash walked up to the ghostly figure, but as he got closer it moved further away, "hey you stop moving!" Ash called to the figure, he started running, causing the apparition to move faster, Ash quickly stopped as the figure passed through the wall. Now shaken up completely he stepped back slightly realising what he had just seen, he looked in both directions seeing nothing, he looked back towards Salvia's room also seeing nothing, the area heated up slightly, leaving Ash perplexed, "I think I need some sleep," Ash placed his hand over his forehead, walking towards his room with thoughts of what he had seen.

Resting on the bed, the words of Salvia played through his mind, what she had lost and remembering what he had lost at the same time, he shut his eyes, falling asleep moments later.

**(in his dreams)**

The fires of the battle raged on in Twinleaf Town, Ash was holding Dawn's hand running through the fiery scene that was Dawn's home town, escaping from the small skirmishes. "Come on Dawn, let's go!" Ash yelled out trying his best to run but felt like he was going nowhere fast.

"Ash, help me!" Dawn yelled out as flames engulfed her, watching in horror as his mother, Johanna, Piplup and Pikachu were engulfed in the same fires.

"No, Dawn, Piplup, Johanna, Pikachu, mom!" Ash yelled for the closest ones to him, felling to his knees started hitting the ground, frozen in place he saw a set of feet standing in front of him, shadowy at the same time he tried to move, but was unable to, "stay away from me," Ash demanded but the figure got closer towards him.

"Oh poor thing, you have lost everything," the shadowy shape taunted the trainer.

Ash looked up to see the person smirking at him grabbing him by the throat, "let me go!" Ash struggled, he felt the grip tighten around him, he placed his hands on the wrists of the man, "why!" Ash continued to gasp for air.

"It was your fault," the person replied.

"No, it wasn't," Ash replied as his grip started to weaken.

The man finally let go and vanished from his sight, Ash now coughing looked around, seeing his partner pokemon and Dawn with her Piplup standing in front of him, "why didn't save us Ash?" Dawn asked the trainer with a frown, she turned away and left Ash.

Ash got up and started running towards Dawn calling her name multiple times but to no avail, she looked back and shook her head, "you're so unreliable," she informed Ash, before vanishing.

Ash stepped back in horror at what he had heard, "Dawn!" Ash called out to her.

**(Back in reality)**

Ash sat up, trembling in fear, moving his hands, he stared at them for a moment, visibly shaking from his nightmare, he heard a knock on the door, the loud sound caused the trainer to jump in terror, "who…who is it?" Ash asked the person at the door.

"It's the princess, I am returning the photo," Salvia replied. Ash walked towards the door, unable to prevent himself from trembling, he placed his hand on the door handle, shaking violently, Ash opened the door to find Salvia was standing at the door with the photo in hand, Salvia was quick to notice Ash shaking and sweat rushing down his arms and head, "are you alright?"

Ash now trying to say something, but was unable to, he pushed Salvia back towards the wall and rushed away from her, "Ash!" the princess called to the man, she noticed the picture of her father and her on the ground, kneeling down to pick it up and looked up again, "what happened to him?" Salvia asked herself picturing the sweat that was running down his arms and the trembling that Ash was showing, "he was shaking pretty badly, and not only that, he was sweating heavily too," Salvia whispered.

A man with short blonde hair peered from his door, showing concern for Ash, "Excuse me, are you his friend? I heard him yelling a moment ago, I was trying to knock on the door to see if he was alright, but he didn't open the door," the man replied with an anxious tone, without getting an answer he watched the young royal running off to get to Ash, "I guess so," the man replied to his own question.

Salvia ran through the hall to meet up with Ash, "he was suffering from a nightmare," Salvia whispered, as she remembered seeing his expression, 'he had a fearful expression, I haven't never seen a person look so scared in my life," Salvia remarked as she looked around.

Meanwhile Ash was in the bar with a shot glass in hand, staring at it for a moment, the glass shock as the clear liquid inside the glass started to spill out, 'it was my fault,' Ash thought to himself as the nightmare started to playback in his mind, he picked up the glass and drank the liquid inside, taking an immediate hit from the contents.

As Ash poured in another glass full Salvia barged in and spotted him preparing to take another drink, "Ash stop this!" Salvia demanded running up to him, and snatching the glass and the bottle from his hand, "getting drunk will not help you in this situation," Salvia informed Ash, placing the bottle on another table.

"Leave me alone," a slightly drunk Ash replied, he hit the table as tears started to flow down his face, "it was my fault Dawn was killed," Ash confessed but the princess didn't take heed in what he said.

"Ash, it was a nightmare, it wasn't real," Salvia tried to assure her friend, but Ash was still on the verge of a mental break down, "I don't think Dawn would want see you like this," Salvia tried her best to comfort Ash.

"Yes she does," Ash replied as parts of the dream played back in his mind, Ash looked towards the corner of the empty room seeing the shadowy figure again. The trainer got up and approached the ghost, but it was soon gone, "again," Ash noted but Salvia started to grow more concerned about his mental state, "did you see that shadow a moment ago?" Ash asked the princess.

"Yes, I have seen it a bit," Salvia replied trying to maintain her calmness. Salvia grabbed the bottle and placed it on the front counter with the shot glass next to it, "come on Ash, rest up, we will be in Snowpoint City tomorrow morning," Salvia instructed Ash, but the trainer ignored her continuing to stare at the corner where he saw the spirit.

"Is someone tormenting me?" Ash whispered, his eyes widened by the spirit and the small amount of alcohol that entered his system.

"Sir Ash, you cannot possibly think of your revenge if you get drunk and have no amount of rest," Salvia concern for Ash started to grow.

"Why are you so worried about me?" Ash asked the princess.

Salvia shook her head and shrugged her shoulders, "the answer is simple, I am your friend," Salvia answered the man, she started approaching the door, "just remember Ash, life isn't something you can throw away that easily," Salvia whispered, walking out of the bar, leaving Ash to lower his head and look at the ground.

Ash looked over his shoulder and gulped, he knew that the princess was right, but he still couldn't shake the feeling something or someone was watching him, 'still why does she care?' the angry trainer walked towards the door, questioning Salvia's intentions.

Ash walked down the hall and stopped by Salvia's room, "Dawn, what do I do to help Ash? " Salvia asked herself while in tears, Ash stopped as he listened to Salvia crying, "Ash is a broken person, what can I do for him?" Salvia kept asking hoping for a response from her best friend.

Ash stopped at the door, preparing to knock, 'I am being foolish, here she is crying,' Ash thought to himself, he lowered his hand and walked away from the room.

Meanwhile in the princess' room Salvia felt someone placing their hand on her left shoulder, Salvia looked over to find that no one was there, clearing up her tears she, "is someone there?" Salvia asked, perplexed by the slight tap on her left shoulder, scanning the room, she still found that no one was around and that she was the only one in the room.

**(The next morning)**

Ash was sitting in his room, looking towards the door, he heard a knock on the door, taking a deep breath, "the door isn't locked come in," Ash called to the person.

Salvia emerged from the open door, "the ship has docked in Snowpoint City, we need to go," Salvia informed Ash, she watched him tiredly stand up and walk slowly towards the exit of the room, "did you get any sleep last night?" Salvia asked the trainer, showing even more concern for the young man. Ash walked passed her ignoring the question, "answer me, did you get anymore sleep last night?!" Salvia asked furiously.

Ash looked over his right shoulder and the towards the wall, "no, I didn't get any more sleep, because I couldn't sleep last night, every time I tried, the same image kept playing back in my mind," Ash replied with a tired expression.

"You cannot sleep and you are in a bad mental state, we rest in Snowpoint for a few days," Salvia issued her plan of action to the trainer, "I am concerned for…." The princess started to feel dizzy falling to the ground.

Ash dropped his bag and rushed to his friend's aid, "hey you alright?" Ash asked the blue haired princess, the trainer placed his hand over her forehead, feeling that she was burning up, "what, she has a fever," Ash pointed out.

Salvia pushed Ash's hand aside and stood up, "I will be fine, I am more worried about you," Salvia walked away from Ash, after staggering a few steps Salvia placed her hand on the wall and tried to push herself towards the exit.

Ash ran up to the princess, "hey, let me help you," Ash grabbed a jacket from his back pack and placed it around the princess.

"I can walk on my own," Salvia tried ot push Ash back, but was too weak to even push his assistance away.

Ash placed his arm around the young royal and assisted her towards the exit, "I heard you crying last night," Ash admitted to the princess.

Salvia lowered her head, feeling ashamed that Ash heard her break down, "you heard me asking Dawn what I should do," Salvia pointed out, she walked slowly with Ash's assistance, the princess placed her right hand on her left shoulder, "you know last night, someone tapped me on the shoulder, when I looked around, no one was there," Salvia confessed to Ash, as her strength continued to fade.

Ash looked back to see the empty hallway, thinking back to seeing the spirit that seem to have followed him, 'it seems to be following me, but why?' Ash asked himself, feeling confused by the presence of the figure.

After making to the Pokemon Centre, Ash waited in the main foyer for the doctor to finish the check-up of his friend, with a plate of food in his hands Ash took a seat at the table, slowly eating the food, ignoring the trainers inside the Pokemon Centre, "I am really pathetic, the person who is trying to comfort me at the moment is the very same person I am pushing away," Ash started talking to himself as if someone was there.

The doctor walked up to Ash and sat opposite him, "the princess will be fine, she needs to rest for a few days, not only that she also needs to have a few proper meals," the doctor instructed the trainer, "also, she needs this medicine, she is suffering pneumonia," the doctor gave Ash the prescription for him to follow.

"Yeah, but I am unreliable, why are you telling me to help her, the last person I tried to help, well she isn't alive to tell you how I failed," Ash informed the doctor.

"You also seem to be going through depression, you need to rest as well, but first please make sure the princess is alright, I am sure you would be able to heal over time," the doctor explained to the trainer who was looking at the paper work for the medicine.

"Alright, I will do what I can, thank you doctor," Ash replied as he continued to eat his meal.

"I will be back in a few days, to see if there is any improvement in her health," the doctor stated his plan to Ash, he grabbed his briefcase and walked out of the medical facility.

Ash finished his meal and walked towards the exit of the Pokemon Centre, with paper in hand Ash, started to think about his own problems as well, he looked up to see the ghostly figure again, "why are you following me?" Ash asked the figure, but it started walking towards the pharmacy, Ash started running towards the spirit, but wasn't getting any closer, "hey, I asked you a question," Ash snapped at the spirit but still no response from the disembodied figure.

Ash made it to the pharmacy, he looked around to find that the spirit was gone yet again, leaving the puzzled trainer even more confused, "just what is going on? Am I and Salvia linked to this spirit?" Ash asked himself.

"Excuse me sir, is there anything I can do to help you?" a woman wearing a woollen jumper and red hair asked the trainer.

"Yes there is something you can do to help me," Ash replied, handing over the paperwork to get the medicine for the princess.

The chemist worker looked at the paper work and gasped in shock, "that is some powerful medicine, who is it for?" the worker asked Ash with a puzzled expression.

"It is for Princess Salvia, at the moment, she is under my care," Ash responded with a less than pleased tone.

"I see, it must be pretty bad for our world famous doctor to prescribe something this powerful," the worker replied, she walked off to get the required medicine.

Ash waited for the worker to reappear with the medicine, he looked over the shoulder wondering if the spirit would make a re-emergence, when nothing happened he grew more concerned, "what does it want from me?" Ash asked himself wondering who was haunting him.

"Here is the medicine, you better hurry," the worker informed Ash.

"Thanks," Ash replied, taking the medicine, Ash walked out of the chemist and rushed back towards the Pokemon Centre. Before entering Ash glanced over his right shoulder to see if he was being followed by the spirit, but nothing yet again, "I guess, it has something to do with me failing," Ash remarked as he belittled himself, he forced himself to re-enter the medical facility to help out his royal friend.

Ash entered the room and placed the medicine on the bed side draw, "you know princess, I am lucky to have a friend like you," Ash confessed as he turned away to let the princess rest, he opened the door and started to walk out, "thank you Princess Salvia," Ash thanked the royal, closing the door to let the royal rest on her own.

Salvia smiled for a moment, knowing that Ash for the first time since she met him, showed some compassion, "at least you aren't destroying yourself, but there is still a long road of recovery to go," Salvia told herself thinking about what was going to happen.

Meanwhile in the Palace Pride was walking with the king, "yes, your highness, I will find your daughter and have her killed," Pride bowed his head, the king walked away pleased with the response, not realising the smirk running across the face of Pride, "you're a fool your highness," Pride whispered as he watched the king leave the area.

Gluttony appeared next to the leader of the Shadow Lords, "you want me to the king?" Gluttony asked the leader.

"No Gluttony, the king is a valuable pawn, he still has a part to play in our little game," Pride retorted with a smirk, "we will still use this foolish king, better to kill two birds with one stone," Pride started laughing.

"Then what about Greed?" Gluttony asked his leader.

"Leave him to Lust and Envy, that traitor will pay for his own actions," Pride answered the gluttonous member of his team, he turned away and spotted one of the shocked soldiers, "well Gluttony, there is your meal," Pride pointed towards the scared soldier. Pride watched the soldier getting killed by his loyal member, 'yes, the pieces are moving where I thought they would, but the mystery is,' Pride thought to himself as he walked through the halls of the palace, "where is the princess, maybe it would be best to lure her out of hiding," Pride thought to himself, thinking of a new plan.

* * *

**Pride's intentions have become clear, Ash is being followed by a spirit, but he is still lost, what will happen in the next meeting with Greed?**

**Next time chapter 5: Vengeful Resolve**


	5. Vengeful Resolve

**Chapter 5: Vengeful resolve.**

_**Summary: **__a few days after arriving in Snowpoint City, the unlikely ally in Greed meets with them again, a much calmer Ash listens to Greed as his path towards vengeance is set._

* * *

Sitting in the pokemon Centre, thinking after resting for a few days, Ash still experiencing his nightmares, but not to the extent he was on the ship, he looked at the glass of beer that was in his grasp, thinking about how he was getting his revenge, "I haven't seen the spirit for a few days now, also, the nightmares have gotten weaker," Ash commented as he sipped the glass of beer, wondering how his friend was going to take his revenge.

After finishing his drink Ash walked towards the hallway to get to the room of the princess, Salvia at the same time was preparing to find out the mystery revolving around the Seven Shadow Lords, "let's see I need to make sure that Ash isn't going to do something stupid," Salvia reminded herself looking for her pokeball, 'this should help, since I don't have my Togekiss, I have to use this one,' Salvia stared at her pokeball for a moment.

Ash knocked on the door startling the young royal, "hey princess, we need to get going," Ash called through the door.

"Not yet we have to wait for Greed," Salvia responded staunchly.

"I am not waiting for him to arrive, we need to get a move on before the other Seven Shadow Lords make an appearance," Ash argued, trying to rush the young royal.

"You still need to be patient, the other Seven Shadow Lords this time have to traverse a mountain and a valley of snow," Salvia snapped back, causing Ash to hit the door, "firstly Ash, you need to remain calm, I shouldn't have to be the one that tells you that," Salvia informed Ash as she heard another thumping on the door, knowing how frustrated Ash was feeling.

"Then what should I do?" Ash asked calmly.

"Firstly Ash, I am still not feeling well, I need to fully recover and you still need to rest up, it might have been three days, but that isn't enough for either of us to be ready for the fight," Salvia stated as Ash turned away from the door, submitting to Salvia's logic, he continued down the hallway only to be stopped by the call of Salvia, "plus didn't you say I am a true friend?" Salvia asked Ash.

Ash pretended not to hear her question, but knew that she had heard him, "yeah I said that, but sometimes I wish Dawn was here," replied the depressed trainer.

"I know, but she isn't sadly," Salvia stated with a saddened tone, "I know it is difficult, but you need to realise that once someone has died, they cannot be brought back to life, plus don't you think that Dawn would want you to be happy? Not moping and beating yourself up," Salvia replied before coughing, still feeling a little dizzy from her illness.

"How do you know?" came the cold reply form Ash.

Salvia took a deep breath and shrugged her shoulders, "I am one of Dawn's best friends, she told me as long as you are a happy, then she will always be happy," Salvia informed the trainer.

"Yeah right," Ash retorted with a hint of sarcasm.

"Come on Ash, you cannot let things drag you down, you have a long life ahead of you," Salvia tried to cheer Ash up.

Ash walked away, not taking heed in what Salvia was telling him, 'it isn't like I have tried to be happy, but more of the fact that I lost my happiness,' Ash thought as he walked into the main foyer of the Pokemon Centre, seeing the doctor walk in with his briefcase, "oh doctor, she will be here in a moment," Ash informed the doctor calmly.

Salvia walked into the main foyer wearing a black blouse with a red dress, her long blue hair tied up in a ponytail, "alright, it seems like I will be getting a check-up again," the princess walked into the middle of the main foyer.

"So have you been taking the medicine?" the doctor asked the royal softly, the princess nodded to affirm the doctors hopes, "good, now you will still be feeling ill, but that should clear up in another three days," the doctor clarified with the princess.

"Great, so we are stuck here," Ash complained hitting the table in front of him.

"You have rested up, now the other thing you need to consider, there will be a snow storm coming and it will last a couple of days, it is best that you stay here where it is safe," the doctor replied as he pointed to the dark clouds rolling in from the south. "What makes it worse is that any roads leading out from the city will be blocked for another week, so take that chance to recover," the doctor informed Ash as he grabbed his suitcase and walked out of the medical facility for pokemon.

"You see Ash, there is no need to be worried about the Seven Shadow Lords, they wouldn't be able to make it passed the storm as well," Salvia assured Ash, getting to her feet and walking towards the café situated in the left side of the Pokemon Centre, "take the chance to get healthy, eat properly and please…" Salvia started before being interrupted by someone walking into the Pokemon Centre causing her to suddenly shiver from the cold.

"Clear your mind," Greed instructed Ash.

Ash turned to Greed and ran up to him, "you again," Ash grabbed him by the collar.

"Yes I know, you want to hurt me," Greed stated with a sigh, he grasped the wrist of Ash and forced him to let go, "you know, I was in the neighbourhood when I decided to tell you both the plan of attack, Lust and Envy will be here in over a week, they plan on taking advantage of you both being unwell, and trapped in this city," Greed explained the situation to Ash and Salvia, he looked around to see the full Pokemon Centre, "before I tell you both more, we better go somewhere private," greed whispered into Ash's left ear.

"I know a place where we can go," Salvia replied with a plate of food in her hands.

The trio walked towards the hallway and into her room, "certainly not a place I would find you resting in princess," Greed commented, looking around the room, which had little light, only a single bed as well as a bedside draw, Greed walked over to the medicine bottle, "you're sick," Greed commented with concern.

Ash looked out the door to make sure no one was following them, after closing the door, he glared at Greed who was holding the bottle, "now tell us, why Lust and Envy are coming here," Ash requested angrily.

"First, I was interrupted by Lust and Envy, there is more to the plan of the Shadow Lords," Greed replied, he placed the medicinal bottle back on the bedside draw, Greed grabbed a chair and turned it back to front, he pointed towards the bluenette, gasping in horror she placed her hands over her mouth in fear after finding out she was the target, "that's right princess, you're the target," Greed bluntly told both Ash and Salvia.

"Why me?" Salvia asked in fear.

"Have you ever heard of killing two Pidgeys with one stone?" Greed asked the royal.

"Me as well?" Ash asked Greed while looking over to the royal.

"You? No they don't even know who you are, I am talking about them killing the princess and the king, if they kill the princess, the line of succession is broken, there is no heir to the throne, this is something Pride will take advantage of," Greed explained to the two people in the room, he looked out the window to see the snow starting to fall.

"Wait a second, why did my dad change so much?" Salvia asked the Shadow lord about her father's change in personality.

Greed looked at the ground with shame written over his face, "did your father tell you what happened to your mother?" Greed asked the princess with a frown.

"Cut the crap Greed, tell us the extent of their plans," Ash dictated terms with the traitorous Shadow Lord.

"Let me finish," Greed told Ash with a frown, he looked over to the princess who shook her head with sadness, "your father told you, your mother was killed in an accident, well that is false," Greed remarked calmly, he noticed Salvia starting to cry, with him clenching his fists angrily, "your mother was murdered, by none other than Lust and Envy, I heard them boasting about it to Pride behind the back of your father," Greed explained to Salvia who fell to the ground crying about the new development.

Ash looked at his friend who was crying, "wait, why didn't you say something to her father?" Ash asked Greed as he grabbed him by the collar again.

"I wanted to, but unfortunately Pride was whispering into his ear, and was always there, feeding Salvia's father all the lies in the world, the best one yet was the promise to bring a person back to life, the person he wanted to be brought back to life was none other than your mother princess," Greed explained the reasoning behind her father's attitude change, "yet we know as well as anyone, that once a person dies, they cannot be brought back to life," Greed replied to his own explanation.

"Why? I love my mom, she was a really nice person, she made me and my family happy, why would someone murder her?" Salvia cried as she started hitting Greed.

"So this is what guilt feels like," Greed noticed the feeling in his mind, "and now Ash time to answer your question, you see, the murder of the queen was a part of the plan to get the king to head down a darker road," Greed elucidated the start of the plan to Ash and Salvia, he grabbed a piece of paper from his pocket and showed it to Ash, "I was gradually turning against the Shadow Lords and that was the final straw, I kept giving information to their enemies until everyone was ready to counter attack," Greed clarified with two as Salvia felt a little dizzy and stepped back after her numerous hits on Greed.

"That doesn't explain everything," Ash retorted with his fists clenched.

"Then let me make it clear to you, they wish to create a new world order, destroying all kingdoms is the first step," Greed answered Ash's question with a grimace, he gave the paper to Ash showing them the new leaders of Unova, "they are young but, they have the full support of me and the armies of the world," Greed showed Ash a picture of a woman with long brown hair, wearing denim shorts, a white blouse and a black vest, she was standing next to a man with a blue jacket, jeans and short brown hair, "they were chosen by the previous king, his name was N," Greed pointed out with a troubled tone.

"Wait, you mean?" Ash started to question the Shadow Lord with a startled expression, Greed nodded and took a deep breath, "he was one of my friends, and these two strangers have taken the throne!" Ash started yelling at Greed but was soon hushed by the former member of the Shadow lords.

"Keep your voice down," Greed whispered as he placed his hand over the raven haired trainer's mouth.

"So Greed, what of the other kingdoms and their tenuous pact of peace with ours?" Salvia asked after regaining some of her composure.

Greed quickly removed his hand and glanced over to the royal, "well these are only rumours, the prince of Kalos is living in a rural town, while the princess of Johto is In hiding, but the royal lines of Kanto and Hoenn weren't so fortunate," Greed whispered, but started pointing to the back of the picture.

"Why are you pointing at the picture?" Ash asked in a puzzled manner.

Salvia looked at the back of the picture and snatched it from Ash, "there is some writing on the back," Salvia answered her friend. Salvia gazed at the back of the picture and started to read it, "odd, most of it is rubbed out," Salvia tried her best to read the writing.

"Yeah, I was holding onto the picture," Greed admitted as he started to feel guilty about his own involvement in the Shadow Lords, "you know normally I wouldn't feel guilty about my involvement in the Shadow Lords, but that was years ago, now I have no guilt about betraying them," Greed admitted to his unlikely allies, Salvia handed back the photo and then turned her attention to Ash, "so Ash, what do you intend to do?" Greed asked the young man.

"Simple, I want to destroy the Seven Shadow Lords," Ash snapped back with a determined face, he pulled out his photo of him and Dawn, "get my revenge on them for what happened," Ash confessed while looking at the photo, then glared at the former Shadow Lord.

"I know, you don't trust me, but I think it is time to make a plan of attack on Lust and Envy," Greed explained to the trainer and the princess, he pulled out pictures of his two former teammates, "now these two work in tandem, Lust can easily seduce her victims but also has a deadly ability where she can read a person's mind and take on the form of someone the victim loves, even act like that person," Greed explained the abilities of Lust to his allies.

"What about envy?" Salvia asked the trainer.

"Well Envy, as his name implies works on using the jealousy of anyone who is attracted to the other victim," Greed answered the princess, "now I know full well you two are friends, but in this situation, Salvia we need to hope you can act well," Greed informed the princess.

Salvia looked at the ground furious at the idea, "how can I act? I haven't been taught," Salvia snapped back, she looked over at Ash who was equally, angry at the idea, "plus, that would be stupid Greed, haven't you forgotten, I look exactly like his lost love, that wouldn't be fair on Ash," Salvia informed the Shadow Lord.

Greed sighed momentarily and shook his head, standing up, he walked towards the window, "so what do you want to do? Defeating Lust and Envy would fulfil the revenge you both seek," Greed hit the bedside draw, causing the medicine to fall off the draw, in a sudden move Ash lunged down and prevented the bottle from breaking, "you two need to come up with a plan and fast," Greed instructed the two.

The raven haired trainer looked at the man who was staring at the window, "you're on our side right, how about you pretend to re-join them?" Ash suggested much to the shock of Greed.

Greed spun around with a smirk on his face, "oh I have been wanting to stab Envy in the back, quite literally," Greed confessed his dislike of Envy towards his new found allies, a dark smirk ran across his face as the two friends started to wonder what he was thinking.

Salvia tilted her head in shock at the Shadow Lord, "then how about you pretend to take me hostage? That should make it a believable plan as well," Salvia suggested more ideas on the plan, holding out her pokeball, "then when the time is right, we strike back for a counter attack," Salvia explained the idea to Ash and Greed.

Ash looked up to Greed and started to wonder about something, "Greed, why do you hate Envy so much?" Ash asked the former member of the Shadow Lords.

"I cannot stand him," Greed replied, smiling with a hint of bloodlust in his eyes, "I like the idea," Greed agreed to the plan.

Ash and Salvia looked at one another with a concerned expression, "Salvia, I don't know he seems to hate Envy so much he would rather stab him in the back," Ash whispered as he sat back down, handing back the medicinal bottle back to the princess.

"I know Ash, but it seems like we can trust Greed…..for now," Salvia replied with a concerned expression, turning her attention to Greed, the two walked towards the door, "Greed, we are going to get something to eat," Salvia told the former Shadow Lord.

"Man, it is going to be difficult to convince them that I am not part of the enemy, but that is fine as long as Pride and the rest fail I couldn't care less," Greed looked at the picture of Ash and Dawn, "there has to be a way I can atone for my sins," Greed whispered as he turned towards the door only to spot a shadowy figure standing at the doorway, "I know, I am trying to help them, but you would still be here if I didn't make the wrong move," Greed told the spirit, but it never replied, it just vanished leaving Greed thinking about what he had to do to keep the people he hoped to protect.

Salvia and Ash grabbed some food, they took a glance towards the window seeing the snowstorm setting in, "I guess there isn't much we can do," Ash walked back to the table.

Salvia sat in front of Ash and started eating her meal, "so we need to place our trust in Greed?" Salvia asked as she looked over to the hallway.

Ash swallowed his first bite, "yeah we do, if he wanted to he could have taken us both out, but he didn't," Ash commented as he glanced over his shoulder, "plus, why does he want to kill Envy? Did something happen between him and Envy?" Ash asked the princess, grabbing his next fork load of food, "the other question is how does Lust and Envy know you're here?" Ash continued to ask the questions.

"Wait didn't Greed tell you to keep your voice down? So there is someone who has been spying for them," Salvia quickly deducted, trying to figure out who it was.

Ash placed the fork down and looked around he also wanted to figure out how Lust and Envy knew they were in Snowpoint City, "do you think it could be the doctor?" Ash asked the princess calmly.

"What makes you think that?" Salvia asked the trainer with a shocked expression.

"Just a feeling I got," Ash replied with a grimace, "plus it couldn't have been Greed, he only just arrived," Ash pointed out with his left hand over his mouth.

Greed walked into the main foyer where he spotted Ash and Salvia having a meal together, 'they are trying to figure out who ratted them out,' Greed thought to himself.

Ash got up and walked towards he door, "I am going for a walk," Ash declared quietly, Salvia got up and showed her willingness to go with Ash, but Ash stopped her from leaving the Pokemon Centre, "no you stay here, you are still sick, I don't want you getting worse," Ash ordered the princess.

"He is right Princess, you stay here where it's safe, let Ash find out who sold you both out to my former comrades," Greed told the princess as he looked towards Ash, "the full force of the storm will be here in under an hour, you better be back here soon," Greed told Ash who glared at him, "you think I did it, I don't blame you, but as you said, I only recently got here," Greed tried his best to defend himself, Ash grabbed a scarf and walked out into the falling snow, "Ash, come back safely," Greed instructed the trainer with a nod.

"Ash, please make sure you make it back before the storm gets worse," Salvia pleaded with the trainer, her expression now fully of concern for his wellbeing, she watched Ash vanishing in the white blanket that was covering the air, 'please Ash, don't do anything stupid.' Salvia wished as she turned back to the fire inside the Pokemon Centre.

Ash walked through the snow which was starting to get heavier, Ash tried to find the place where the doctor resided, "let's see, the doctor should be living around here," Ash noted to himself, he walked covering his face from the driving snow, he immediately noticed that he didn't have too much time before the full force of the storm set in.

Ash pressed on until he made it to the house of the doctor, he knocked on the door, but there was no answer, he could barely hear the doctor talking, but it was enough to hear what he was saying, "yes, I am making sure those two don't go anywhere," the doctor was saying something Ash could barely here, "even the traitor is there too," the doctor was telling someone, Ash pressed his ear against the door so he get a better ear on what was being said.

"So he is talking to someone," Ash whispered as the wind started to pick up.

"Yes Lust, the princess is at the Pokemon Centre," the doctor called the name much to Ash's horror, Ash stepped back trying to take in what he had heard, "that's right, she will be healthy soon, but they will be trapped here for a few days, she will not be able to escape," the doctor informed Lust of the young royal's situation.

After hearing the doctor's confession of sorts Ash made his way back to the Pokemon Centre, the road being more difficult to follow as the winds continued to get stronger, 'I don't believe this, Greed was innocent, but the doctor, what was that bastard thinking, selling out the princess like that?' Ash tried his best to digest what was going on.

Ash pressed on but soon collapsed, he felt the hand of someone pushing him to go forward, but no one was there, Ash looked around, finding that no one was in the area, "again that spirit seems to be guiding me, but why?" Ash got back up and pressed on towards the Pokemon Centre.

"Do you think he will make it back? The weather is getting worse," Salvia's concern for Ash started to build even more.

Greed looked out the window hoping that Ash would make it back, "yeah, I am hoping so, something tells me he has an important part to play to save the world," Greed replied taking a deep breath.

After talking about Ash, the wind drove in revealing a panting Ash, he placed his hands on his knees trying to regain his composure, "it…..it…..was the…..doctor," Ash informed Salvia and Greed, he looked up with an angered expression, "he was talking to Lust and Envy," Ash stated much to Greed's shock and the princess' horror.

Salvia placed her hands over her mouth, her eyes widened realising that they were now trapped inside the city, "but why?" Salvia asked stepping back, coughing as the cool air soon hit her, but it wasn't that of the air outside, it was like her entire body had cooled down.

"He was doing his job as a doctor, but the question is, why did he sell us out?" Ash asked himself, looking up to Greed, "what else can you tell us?" Ash asked the former Shadow Lord.

"The Shadow Lords, make promises they never keep, for instance, like with Salvia's father, they promise to bring back loved ones is a very tempting offer, I am willing to bet, the doctor lost someone precious to him," Greed explained to Ash and Salvia, he walked to the door, "you two have no choice, you need to fight, let's hope by then you will have fully recovered," Greed informed the two friends, as he helped the Nurse lower the barrier to enforce the Pokemon Centre doors.

"You made it back safely, thank goodness for that," Salvia breathed a sigh of relief, she turned towards the man she thought was her enemy, seeing him help the people out, "you know Ash, it seems like we have misjudged Greed, he is helping people out and asking for nothing in return," Salvia said with a smile on her face.

Ash looked over to the helping Shadow Lord, giving members of the public and trainers alike blankets in order to keep warm during the snowstorm, "hey you two please help out a little," Greed made a request to the two.

Ash and Salvia started helping Greed and Nurse Joy out, handing out food and blankets to the people, "here you go," Ash handed a blanket to a child.

"Thank you sir," the child replied with a joyous smile.

Greed walked up to Ash happy to see that the people were going to be fine, "so Ash, what is your answer?" Greed asked the trainer calmly.

"Simple, I seek payback for what the Shadow Lords did to Dawn, but, I need to make sure these people are alright, so when Lust and Envy come here, I will fight them with tooth and nail, for revenge and for the people here," Ash informed his new ally.

"Revenge ha?" Greed asked the trainer laughing at him, "you still seek the avenge the love you have lost, yet you accept that once someone's life is lost, they cannot be brought back, the same cannot be said for the King and the doctor," Greed explained to Ash, he looked over to the royal who was getting a little sick, "you better take her to her room, to get her medicine, I was able to get more just in case, so you need to look after her," Greed instructed Ash, he walked off to help more people out, "you know at one time, I thought being filthy rich meant having lots of money, but helping people out makes me feel even richer, maybe I am being greedy," Greed started laughing at his own weakness. Greed glanced over his shoulder with a playful smile, "when you see the other bottle, take credit for getting, tell the princess you got it for her."

Ash walked over to the princess who started coughing, "come on Princess, time for you to rest up," Ash informed the young royal.

"No, I…..I want to help," Salvia coughed out her response, now feeling tired from all of her work, Ash didn't listen he led the bluenette back to her room, making her feel guilty, "please Ash, I am not worried about my health, these people need help," Salvia weakly requested and getting weaker due to her illness.

"Don't you worry about that, Greed and I will help the people out," Ash tried his best to smile during the response, but still nothing would emerge, he opened the door and helped the tiring princess back to her bed, Ash grabbed the bottle and pulled out a couple of tablets to give to the princess, "now take your medicine and rest up," Ash ordered the young royal as the lights started to flicker, Ash turned around and quickly noticed another problem with the princess, who was getting really nervy with the flickering lights, "hey is there a problem?" Ash asked the blue haired royal with a concerned tone.

Salvia sat with her back to the wall, "yes, I am afraid of the dark," Salvia replied with an embarrassed tone.

"You're twenty and you're scared of the dark?" Ash questioned the princess, but dared not tease her further about her fear, "well I guess I can't say anything, there are some things I am scared of as well," Ash admitted while handing over the medicine, leaving the princess perplexed by his comment, she tilted her head as if to ask what he was afraid of, "I will leave it at that, you go to sleep," Ash instructed the royal, as he walked back to the entrance of the room.

**(2 Hours later)**

After a few hours of helping the trapped people in the Pokemon Centre out, Ash walked back into the hallway as the storm got worse, the lights made their final flicker before finally going out, Ash walked passed the room housing the princess, only to hear her sobbing, "it's so dark," Salvia cried, Ash stopped for a moment and thought about what to do next, he turned to the door and put his hand on the doorknob, "I am so scared," Salvia admitted, Ash hesitated for a moment.

Ash with his hand shaking thought about opening the door, he removed his hand and started to walk away from the room, only to hear the young royal crying even more, "she is an adult and is so frightened of the dark," Ash hissed he quickly opened the door and spotted the princess with her arms around her legs, her head resting on her knees.

"Who's there?" Salvia asked with a fearful tone, hearing the door close, not daring to look up out of fear.

Ash walked up to the bed and sat next to the princess, "you know, it is a little sad that you're afraid of the dark at your age," Ash commented as the princess rested her head on the trainer's shoulder.

"I know, I cannot help it Ash," Salvia answered back, feeling a little more at ease, "you said you were afraid of something what is it?" Salvia asked her friend softly.

"Going to sleep and being hounded by the nightmares I have been getting over the last few nights," Ash admitted his new fear to the princess, "in fact I haven't slept properly for nearly a week," Ash confessed his problem to his royal friend.

Salvia looked over to Ash, who was looking at his hands, trying to cover up his fear as much as possible, "wow, you haven't said a thing about being scared of going to sleep," Salvia commented to which Ash remained quiet, the room remained dark, leaving Ash and Salvia to talk about their own little fears, until the eventually fell asleep while sitting up, peacefully as the howling storm continued outside of the Pokemon Centre, Salvia's head resting on the right shoulder of Ash, who was sleeping right next to her.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter the ending part was quite nice, but that is the last little bit of peace they will get for a little while. **

**Next time chapter 6: Shattered Snow Storm**


	6. Shatted Snow Storm

**Chapter 6: Shattered Snow Storm.**

_**Summary: **__The snow storm is over, but the clean-up begins, during the clean up the enemy shows up unexpectedly ambushing both Ash and Greed, but the turning of the tide appears when the Shadow Lords start to discover who they are facing against._

* * *

Greed walked around to make sure the people were alright, smiling he noticed a little child walking up to him, "you're amazing," the kid complimented the Shadow Lord.

Greed chuckled slightly and turned away, "no it was my two friends, they did all the work," Greed tried to remove all of the credit from himself, the people looked at him as if to tell him he did an amazing job, Greed rushed off to find his allies, he walked into the hallway and noticed that one of the doors was part open, he pushed it open to find that Ash and Salvia were sitting up and sleeping at the same time, he also noticed Salvia's head resting on Ash's right shoulder.

A broad smirk crossed his face coming up with an idea, he tip-toed into the room and approached his friends, 'time to play a small prank on these two,' Greed thought as he grabbed the right arm of Ash, slowly but surely moving it without making any sudden movements. Moving it slowly until Ash's arm was around the princess' shoulder.

Greed walked out quickly and without making any noises, he closed the door and waited for Ash and Salvia to wake up, "I cannot wait for the reaction," Greed held back his laughter.

Salvia was the first to wake, she was quick to notice Ash's arm around her, getting upset at what she had seen, she poked the face of Ash, trying to make him uncomfortable, "Ash wake up now," Salvia demanded.

Ash slowly woke up and stretched out his arms, yawning at the same time, "is it morning already?" Ash asked the princess tiredly.

"What were you doing with your arm around me?" Salvia glared at her friend.

"Hey, I did no such thing," Ash replied before noticing the position of his right arm, "yeah and slept on my shoulder like a baby," Ash snapped back.

"Wait we slept together?" Salvia pushed Ash away, before hearing the laughter of Greed coming from out the bluenette's room. Ash and Salvia looked at one another and nodded, "he pulled a prank on us," Salvia acknowledged with a slight laugh, she got up and pushed Ash out of the room, "I need to get dressed," Salvia commented as she closed the door.

Ash looked over to Greed who was smiling proudly with his own actions, "sorry about that Ash, you two seemed really comfortable," Greed teased his friend.

"Why didn't you wake us up?" Ash asked Greed with a disappointed tone.

"Me wake you two up? No that was way too much fun," Greed admitted his interest in pulling his prank on Ash and Salvia, "the storm has finished, I think we also need to clean up," Greed informed Ash as he walked away from the trainer.

"You know changing the topic isn't going to help you later on," Ash remarked with a serious tone, looking towards the door that was closed, "Salvia, I am heading to the main foyer, I will get your breakfast," Ash informed the young royal quietly, Ash exited the hallway, shaking his head in disbelief that Greed would pull a prank on them.

Meanwhile Salvia who was fully dressed, also wondering why she was the victim of a prank, "maybe Greed did it to put us a little at ease," Salvia whispered to herself, but her thoughts soon drifted to the previous night, her and Ash talking about their respective fears, "it was nice that we were able to talk, at least he was calmer," Salvia quietly told herself as she pulled out a picture of her and Dawn at the palace prior to her friend's own demise, "you know Dawn, he hasn't been happy for a while, but I bet I can change that," Salvia whispered to the picture of Dawn.

**(Arrowroot Town)**

Pride walked to the king who was sitting on the throne, "sir, we have found your daughter, she is in Snowpoint City, Lust and Envy will be there in just two hours from now," Pride informed the king who nodded in approval.

"Very good Pride, don't let me down, after all you promise to bring my wife back is still a part of our deal," Salvia's father explained to the Shadow Lord.

"Yes of course, your majesty," Pride retorted with a smirk. The Shadow Lord turned away his smile broadening, holding back his laughter, 'you sir are a fool, we have no intentions of bringing your wife back, not that we could anyway, you are as foolish as the good doctor in Snowpoint City,' Pride thought as he opened the door, he peered through the door seeing the depressed king, "this is almost too easy," Pride smugly stated as he closed the door.

A man with a black cloak walked up to Pride who placed the hood over his head, "Pride, is the king about ready to fall?" Gluttony asked his leader.

"No, he is still going to be a pawn in this game, plus with Greed's betrayal, I don't expect Lust and Envy to have an easy mission, he has given way too much information to the enemy," Pride explained the problem to Gluttony.

"I see, so you don't expect those two to survive?" Gluttony asked the leader of the Seven Shadow Lords.

"Our problem will come if the king and queen of Unova join this fight, Lust and Envy don't concern me, but Greed on the other hand….." the leader clenched his fists angrily and punched the wall to the left of him, "I want Greed dead!" Pride informed Gluttony giving him a stare that shook the subordinate to the core, removing his fist from the wall revealing a gaping hole that scared his ally even more.

"Y-yes sir," Gluttony replied before running off to fulfil his mission.

Pride watched his subordinate running away to start his mission, 'yes, everything is falling into place, the pieces are aligning and the next stage of this game is about to begin,' Pride thought as he glanced over his right shoulder, "but first….. soon one piece will be eliminated," Pride started laughing at his first victim.

Pride walked down the hall sliding his right hand across the wall, until he felt a secret button coming from the wall, he pressed it lightly, he heard the growls of one of the members followed by the snoring of another, "I see so Sloth is asleep while guarding Wrath," Pride turned on the light to see Sloth sleeping on a chair.

Raising his head slowly, Sloth opened his eyes to see Pride walking through the secret hallway, "Pride…sorry, for sleeping," the lazy member of the Shadow Lords apologised, slowly and without any emotion.

Pride approached the near sleeping member, "don't worry too much Sloth, the time will come when I will unleash Wrath on the world," Pride informed the loyal guard.

"Pride! Let me out and so I can destroy everything!" Wrath bashed at the door.

Pride calmly stared at the, looking into the prison containing the final shadow lord seeing the bulky man thrashing about the prison, "Wrath, your turn will come, but you need to wait, first I need to deal with Pride, the foolish king and his meddling daughter," Pride informed the powerful man, he turned away allowing Sloth to sleep even more on his duties, 'luckily Sloth is almost equal to Wrath,' Pride thought to himself walking through the hallway again.

**(Snowpoint City)**

Ash started cleaning up the city with Salvia looking on from the distance, not even noticing the princess helping out a little while keeping an eye on him, 'last night, he comforted me, but now he is helping out other people, it is like he is a lot more at ease,' Salvia thought, shivering as the chilling wind blew in from the mountain.

"He certainly is serious, it is like he doesn't want to let any more people down," Greed crossed his arms watching Ash repairing a fence after the severe storm that lashed the area.

"What do you mean Greed?" Salvia asked the former Shadow Lord.

Greed knelt down and picked up some of the snow, "you know Pride will be after me soon, no doubt he will try to kill me, one of the reasons why I left the Shadow Lords is because Pride is using them for his own ambitions," Greed explained to the forming a snowball.

"Why are you telling me this?" Salvia asked her new ally.

"Because I will not survive this battle," Greed informed the princess much to her dismay, he turned towards the mountains and spotted the doctor approaching the princess, "remember princess, pretend not to know," Greed whispered without the doctor knowing.

Ash was quick to notice the doctor, he dropped his tools and nodded at the young royal, "time to get some answers," Ash hissed inaudibly, Ash followed Salvia back into the Pokemon Centre, but waiting for the chance to confront the doctor, Greed wasn't far behind, the Shadow lord glanced over his shoulder to make sure the enemy wasn't nearby, "so, what is the plan this time?" Ash asked calmly watching the princess remain quiet.

"We wait, then Salvia will come out to get a drink of water, that will be our chance to confront the good doctor," Greed informed Ash who remained serious about the plan, Ash grabbed a chair and waited for the chance, thinking about what he had heard from the day before.

Meanwhile Salvia was getting another health check, to make sure that her illness was clearing up, "good, everything seems to be going well," the doctor remarked.

Salvia stood up and walked out of the room, "I am going to get a glass of water," Salvia informed the doctor, she opened the door and looked back, "I will be back in a moment," Salvia smiled at the doctor.

"Alright," the man with short grey hair replied calmly.

Salvia walked into the main foyer and glanced at Ash who was sitting, waiting for the plan to be enacted, "you wait here," Ash ordered the young royal. After jumping out of his seat Ash and Greed rushed to the room with the hopes of getting an answer from the doctor.

Ash and Greed walked into the room hoping to see the doctor, as they entered they found the doctor on the ground in a pool of his own blood, "what happened? That was too fast," Ash enquired looking around, to see who was responsible.

"It seems like we have company," Greed retorted, scanning the room for the person responsible.

"Ah we arrived much sooner than expected," a voice familiar to Greed echoed in the room.

Greed looked around to find that no one was in the room, the silver haired man, turned around and ran out of the room, he scanned the hallway to find that the person who said something wasn't in the hallway, "stupid Lust, where is that bitch?" Greed hissed in frustration, running down the hallway to see where his former teammate was hiding.

Meanwhile in the room Ash was looking around until he was pushed to the wall, upon opening his eyes he spotted a man with green eyes, red hair and wearing a black suit, "hello, I see you have made friends with Greed," the young man said while picking Ash up off the ground, "do you know who I am?" the person asked the trainer.

"Yeah, you're Envy, the dirty little pig that killed my fiancé," Ash replied, glaring at the man.

"Oh so I am famous now, nowhere near as famous as you," Envy replied with a hint of jealousy.

Ash smugly smirked at the Shadow Lord, "oh well, not all of us are as stupid as you," Ash insulted the Shadow Lord, "I know it was you that killed the doctor, what are you hiding?" Ash asked Envy with a more serious tone.

"Hiding, well how about the truth?" Envy answered the trainer, putting the trainer back on to the ground he started walking towards the door way, "the truth is, I was responsible for the death of your precious fiancé, as well as your mother, her friend and the two pokemon," Envy admitted to Ash. Now seething with the truth being told to him Ash blindly charged towards Envy and grabbed him by the throat, pushing him out of the room and into the hallway.

"You bastard, for that, I will make sure your death is long and painful!" Ash yelled at the Shadow Lord, raising his left fist into the air, preparing to punch the enemy, upon seeing Envy laughing at him and taking it as a taunt from him, Ash hit the Shadow Lord, but missed him hitting the wall just inches from Envy's face.

"What's the matter? You missed me, I thought you were going to slowly kill me," Envy continued to taunt Ash.

"I change my mind, I am going to let Greed deal with you," Ash growled at the Shadow Lord, pulling his left fist back Ash prepared another punch, this time jabbing Envy in the stomach, Ash let go of Envy as he started coughing and spluttering, gasping for air. Ash quickly grabbed the trench coat and dragged envy back towards the main foyer.

Lust looked at her teammate now in a pathetic position, "you know, this has nothing at all to do with you, yet you meddle in our affairs," Lust turned her attention to Ash who shook his head in response to Lust's comments, "you want to get involved in this? I don't pity you," Lust placed her right hand over her head in displeasure.

"Listen up, your teammate was responsible for Dawn's death! Don't you dare say this has nothing to do with me!" Ash yelled at the only female shadow lord, using all his strength Ash tossed Envy towards Lust who was looking at the teammate.

"No one hurts my teammate and gets away with it," Lust coldly informed Ash.

Greed stood infront of Ash and barred the path of Lust, "do you not know what Pride is after? You don't even know why I betrayed Shadow Lords, you only took it as something that should never have been done,' Greed started as he looked over to Envy who was slowly getting up, "Ash, take the princess somewhere safe," Greed whispered to Ash, preparing to take on his former comrades.

"Envy, prevent the princess from escaping, I will deal with Greed," Lust ordered her teammate calmly, Lust glared at the former member of the Seven Shadow Lords, "Twinleaf Town, you betrayed us," Lust growled at Greed.

Laughing at his former comrade, he walked around the Pokemon Centre and stood between the people and Lust, "there is a difference between me and the other Shadow Lords, I have found something or someone worth protecting, life is a precious gift and I intend to be greedy and enjoy all the pleasures of life, money, food, wine and yeah you know the rest," Greed confessed with a smirk, he looked over at Ash and Salvia seeing them running away from Envy.

"So what is you lust for Greed?" Lust asked the traitorous member of the Shadow Lords.

"Well it something you and the other bastards don't have, but I think I will keep that a secret, not that a filthy bitch like needs to know what I want," Greed taunted the female member of the Shadow Lords.

"For that Greed, you will die as painfully as possible," Lust scowled at Greed, lowering her hood revealing her long red hair.

"There is something else, I am going to enjoy ripping your hair out by the roots," Greed stated before feeling a powerful kick that sent him flying towards the wall, "right almost forgot, don't incur Lust's wrath," Greed whispered to himself, Greed looked back to see the people panicking, "hey you guys, don't panic, get out of here now!" Greed instructed the people, 'man this is against my policy,' Greed looked over to the woman taunting him.

"What's the matter Greed, can't hit a woman?" Lust asked her former comrade.

"How about changing forms? You know to a man, so I can at least hit you," Greed suggested with a smirk

"Nope, I know your biggest weaknesses Greed, like how soft you are when it comes to people, you have always been soft," Lust walked towards a little girl who had lost her mother in the panic, Lust grabbed the girls hair and smirked at Greed, "so what now? You are in a position where you have been hurt because of one attack and there is this little girl who you want to protect," Lust continued the insult on her former teammate.

"Let her go Lust, she is only a kid," Greed slowly got to his feet, 'man I hate this, but she is provoking me,' Greed closed his eyes, but was left with little choice, he charged towards Lust with the intentions of saving the little girl.

"Mr Greed, please help me!" the little girl cried for the former Shadow Lords assistance. Greed tackled Lust to the ground, forcing her to let go of the girl, he looked over to the girl and smiled at her, "get out of here now, find your mother," Greed instructed the girl, he was pushed off by the strength of Lust.

"Oh so you want to fight, too bad Greed," Lust stood up, dusting off her black robes.

Greed started laughing and noticed the fast emptying Pokemon Centre, "so let me ask you this question, why did you kill the doctor?" Greed curiously asked his former ally.

"He was nothing but a pawn," Lust retorted proudly at her own actions. Lust rushed towards Greed with her fists clenched, getting ready to punch her former ally

"Much like you and Envy," Greed replied as he grabbed Lust's arm and threw her towards the wall, the impact caused a gaping hole to form on the right side of the Pokemon Centre, Lust stood up yet again dusting her robes, "I see, so you are taking me lightly," Greed acknowledged the red haired member of the Shadow Lords.

"No, I am not, you are the one taking me lightly, I am stronger than most normal men out there, so you better take this fight Seriously Greed, or you will not survive to see how Pride is going to punish you," Lust informed the former Shadow Lord.

"Well since you are stronger than most normal men, I guess I better stop holding back," Greed started laughing at the, cracking his knuckles preparing to fight against Lust.

Meanwhile out northern parts of Snowpoint City Ash was running with Salvia behind him, Ash looked back to see Envy chasing after them, gritting his teeth Ash looked towards the cave entrance, "get in," Ash snapped at his friend.

"But Ash," Salvia tried to argue with the trainer.

"No buts just get in, you will be safer," Ash snapped at the blue haired royal, he turned to Envy who stopped at the cave entrance, "I guess you were too scared to face Greed," Ash remarked, seeing his enemy crossing his arms, standing in front of the cave entrance.

"Afraid of Greed? Not a chance, at the moment, he is struggling against Lust, she knows his weakness, he would never hit a woman," Envy pointed out happily. Thinking about the situation in Twinleaf Town, he started laughing at the trainer, "oh your revenge right, there is something you need to know," Envy started laughing at the raven haired man.

"Shut up, you worm," Ash snapped at the Shadow Lord, as the wind started to pick up.

"He destroyed half the town along with the people, it was enough to set up the Unova Soldiers as well as Greed," Envy pointed out with a smirk, leaving the trainer shaking with anger.

"You confess that it was your fault that Twinleaf Town was destroyed in one night, meaning you aren't only responsible for the death of Dawn, you are also to blame for the loss of my mother, Johanna, Pikachu and Piplup, keep your mouth shut, I don't more reasons to say that you have to die," Ash ordered the member of the shadow lords. Ash charged towards him, with his right fist raised, swinging at his enemy with all his anger, the Shadow Lord fell back with his hood falling, revealing short brown hair.

"That one was for free," Envy remarked arrogantly.

"No that was just the start, you will suffer," Ash snapped back, starting to glow blue.

Envy noticed the colour around him, "what is that?" Envy asked the man.

"This? Well, it is called Aura," Ash replied, his eyes started to flicker with shades of blue, scaring Envy.

Envy stepped back as Ash got closer to him, "wait a second, does that mean, you're are one of the legendary Aura Guardians?" Envy asked the trainer, but without warning Ash rushed towards him and unleashed a powerful burst of punches, 'dammit, he is fast, but has power to support it,' Envy thought as he jumped back to retreat from Ash.

"There is no escape for you," Ash coldly announced, walking slowly towards the Shadow Lord, "you know the difference between you and me?" Ash asked the Shadow Lord, raising his right hand again, clenching his fist.

"Easy, I have no guilt in what I do!" Envy stated with a proud tone, he tackled a surprised Ash to the ground stopping him from punching the Shadow Lord, the followed up by using Ash as a punching bag, forcing Ash to defend himself from the flurry of punches, "it wasn't that hard we rig the town with explosives, then we set the timer, amazing how fun it was to destroy an insignificant town," Envy arrogantly pointed out.

"It was fun to you?" Ash now seething even more, "I told you to keep your mouth shut, now all I will is rip that filthy tongue out of your mouth," tried to push Envy off, using his aura to throw his enemy off of him, Ash quickly got to his feet and ran towards the Shadow Lord, "don't mess with an Aura Guardian you filthy coward!" Ash yelled at the foe, his right fist glowing blue, swinging his right hand at the Shadow Lord, he sent the man flying towards the building.

Envy slid back, cleaning up some of the blood that was oozing from the corner of his mouth, 'an Aura Guardian, Pride said nothing about an Aura Guardian in the job description,' complained the angry member, it was then he felt a shockwave emanating from behind him, getting up from the crater of snow was Lust, "we are in trouble, we have an Aura Guardian in the mix," Envy informed his teammate.

Upon hearing this a panicked expression befell Lust, she gritted her teeth and clenched her fists angrily, "what I thought they were extinct!" Lust snapped at her ally, feeling another shockwave pulsating from the trainer.

Greed looked on in amazement, he began to smirk at the trainer, "well, well, what have we here?" Greed wondered to himself, seeing the blue aura pushing the snow away from the battle, 'man I am glad I changed sides,' Greed thought as he began to shake in fear.

"Envy, we need to pull back, we need to tell Pride what we are up against," Lust instructed her teammate, looking over to Ash who was getting ready to attack.

"We need to fight this man in order to get to the princess," Envy argued back, getting ready to fight back against Ash and Greed.

"No, we have lost the advantage, we need to come up with a new plan," Lust tried to tell her teammate, but the pleas soon fell on death ears as she watched in horror, seeing Envy rushing towards Ash, but was soon sent flying back.

"Damn, how do we combat against an Aura Guardian?" Envy got back up slowly trying to figure out their next course of action against Ash.

"We retreat for now, we need to tell Pride about the Aura Guardian, we timed our attack too soon," Lust helped her ally up.

Ash watched them running away, he tried to run after them, but was stopped by Greed, "get out of the way Greed," Ash ordered the former Shadow Lord.

"Not now, we need to make sure the people are alright first, plus there is something I want to know," Greed informed Ash, looking around to see the people in fear of Ash, "you let your anger get the better of you, now you have also revealed who you are, an Aura Guardian to the rest of the people of this city," Greed tried his best to reason with Ash.

"You are letting them get away!" Ash yelled at Greed, but the Shadow Lord tried his best to stop Ash.

"If we chase after them now, we will lose the advantage, here we can make a new plan, concerning your abilities," Greed whispered as he looked over to the distance, knowing that Lust and Envy were no longer in the city, "plus they won't get far, most likely hiding in Lake Acuity," Greed pointed out as he spotted a narrow blood trail leading away from the city, 'judging from the attack, Envy might have a few broken ribs and Lust well, I think I broke her spirit, I cannot wait for those two to finally be eliminated,' Greed thought to himself.

Salvia emerged from the cave seeing that Ash had calmed down after the short battle, she walked up to Ash with a relieved smile on her face, "so what happened?" Salvia asked the two allies.

"They are injured, but they aren't going anywhere in a hurry, soon it will be time for us to make a counter attack," Greed replied as he turned towards the people, he started walking towards the almost destroyed Pokemon Centre, "come on you two we better get to work and rebuild the Pokemon Centre," Greed instructed his allies.

Meanwhile at the Lake not too far away from Snowpoint City, Lust and Envy entered a cave to heal from their injuries, "how did we find the only Aura Guardian alive? I thought the previous Shadow Lords destroyed them over a hundred years ago," the injured Envy punched the cave wall in frustration.

Lust grabbed her phone and started to dial the number, "yes Pride, we have encountered a problem," Lust started talking over the phone, "have you heard of the Aura Guardians? Well we have encountered one, and Envy, well he had to fight him," Lust confirmed the problem to her leader, after informing the leader about the new development, she heard her leader yelling out his frustrations.

"What is the plan to stop Greed and now an Aura Guardian?" Envy asked her teammate grasping his side in pain.

"Yes, yes of course," Lust ended the call, she looked over to Envy who was hoping he would get his revenge on Ash, "we are to retreat even further, to Lilycove City," Lust instructed her teammate.

"Dammit, it will take us weeks based on our injuries," Envy complained with a punch on the ground, he looked out to the exit, the image of an explosion of aura etched in his mind, "so we can now confirm we have an Aura Guardian," Envy reminded Lust of the current situation.

"Yes, we don't have a lot of time, we need to rest up then head out," Lust replied with a frown.

Back at Snowpoint City, Ash was sitting at the table with people looking at him after the recent fight, Salvia approached him nervously, "Ash, you seem to be shaken up," Salvia's concerns started to show for Ash.

Ash looked over to the phone to see Greed talking to someone, all he could spot was a young woman with long brown hair, "I over reacted again," Ah whispered with a deep breath.

At the phone Greed continued his conversation, "you know we have a new powerful ally," Greed informed his ally.

"Is that so? How powerful?" the woman asked Greed with a smile.

"He is an Aura Guardian," Greed replied with a smirk, he glanced over his left shoulder to see Ash eating his meal.

"An Aura Guardian? I thought they were all wiped out by the previous Shadow Lords," the woman stated with a surprised expression.

"So did I, but I was surprised to see that Ash Ketchum is indeed an Aura Guardian," Greed explained to his ally.

"Then I have to meet him," the woman replied with a smirk.

"Well are you a little busy Queen Hilda? I mean, there is no way you can get to Sinnoh in just a few days," Greed replied to the woman known as Hilda.

"I need to meet the Aura Guardian, plus I want to avenge the death of N, so defeating the Shadow Lords is one of my missions," Hilda informed Greed calmly.

"Fine, we will be in meet you in Jubilife City," Greed ended the call and turned towards Ash, he got up and walked over to the duo, "alright we need to plan for the counter attack, plus we also have another ally to meet up with," Greed looked down at the angry trainer.

* * *

**With the new developments and the chance to meet the next royal, Will Ash and Greed defeat Lust and Envy? Or will they escape yet again? **

**Next time Chapter 7: Cold Aura.**


	7. Cold Aura

**Chapter 7: Cold Aura**

_**Summary: **__the final showdown against Lust and Envy, how will Ash control his Aura perfectly as his anger overcomes him? Read and find out._

* * *

Sitting at the table Ash slammed his fists down angrily at one of the comments that Greed had made, "so that is what you now see me as, you find out I can control Aura and now you see me as a living breathing weapon?" Ash asked the former Shadow Lord with his eyes glowing blue, trying his best not to yell and scare the people who were sheltering in the Pokemon Centre.

"Listen Ash, you are the only Aura Guardian left, you need to remember the Seven Shadow Lords need to be killed, me included," Greed finished his sentence with a sigh.

"But why?" Salvia asked the Shadow Lord with a shocked tone.

"Because no matter what, I am still a Shadow Lord, but I intend to die the way I choose, and it will not be by your hands," Greed looked over to a seething Ash.

"So you will choose your own fate," Ash snapped back at the Shadow Lord, Greed nodded his head with a broad smile.

"Listen Ash, you are to the only Aura Guardian left, you have to do something," Greed tried to plead with Ash, "being an Aura Guardian means you have…" Greed started but was soon interrupted by the Sinnoh Princess.

"Enough Greed!" Salvia yelled at the Shadow Lord, she looked over to Ash whom was looking at his food, "Ash is not a weapon, he is a human, I refuse to treat Ash in that manner," Salviawalked towards a seat and sat next to Ash, "hey, I know the true you, there is no need to be sad and you have to try and find a way of going forward," Salvia tried her best to pick Ash up from his downward spiral.

"Thanks princess, you are proving to be a true friend," Ash thanked the royal.

"No problem Ash, I will help you out no matter how bad the situation is," Salvia quietly assured the trainer who started eating his food.

"You seem to know how to calm him down," Greed complimented the young royal, he walked towards the table with his own plate of food, taking a chair and sitting down, "but right now we need to figure out how we can defeat Lust and Envy," Greed openly stated the intentions of the group.

"It is great that a lot of people will not be in the way," Salvia breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yes, I am relieved about that as well," Greed confessed happily.

"The next time we face them, they will have a plan as well," Ash informed the two friends.

"That I am aware of, it isn't like Lust to not have a back-up plan, after all I have never defeated her in a game of Chess," Greed proudly stated with a chuckle, "but I could also tell she was thrown way off guard because of you, she didn't expect an Aura Guardian to be around," Greed pointed out the situation that Lust and Envy were in, he started eating his food, while Ash remained quiet.

"Yes, but next time, they will be prepared for Ash's aura abilities," Salvia commented as she focused on Ash who silently sat next to her.

Greed stopped eating for a moment and lowered his fork, "yes, that is true, so this is what we are going to do, we are going to use the initial plan, I will pretend to defect, but there will be a slight difference, Ash you wait for the signal to attack," Greed instructed the two friends calmly.

Salvia noticed Ash clenching his fists and looked away again, "alright, but what is the signal?" Salvia asked the former member of the Shadow Lords.

"I will just say, no we should execute her in front of Pride and her father," Greed informed the princess and Ash of the line that would be used as a signal, "from there I will take Salvia to a safe distance then Ash and I will proceed to destroy the first two members of the Shadow Lords," Greed informed Ash and Salvia of the plan, Greed turned his attention to Ash who turned away and left the duo to watch him getting upset, 'oh man now he is pissed,' Greed thought to himself, it didn't take long for Salvia to get up and follow Ash outside, she grabbed her jacket and rushed outside.

Salvia looked around to see if she could find Ash, "why did Greed have to say that to Ash?" Salvia asked herself with a saddened expression.

Ash walked to the scene where he fought Envy, thinking about how he exploded with Aura, "is Greed telling the truth? I mean look at this, did I really cause this much damage?" Ash kept reminding himself, seeing the houses that were flattened and the trees snapped like twigs in every direction, then his thoughts quickly turned to the scared people in the area, "I also scared the people, the very same people I needed to make sure were never to get hurt," Ash approached the crater thinking more about how he scared the Shadow Lord.

Salvia looked around and eventually found Ash at the scene of his first confrontation with Envy, hearing him talking to himself about how he felt about his Aura abilities, Salvia watched from behind a tree listening with concern in her mind, "great, he is beating himself up even more," Salvia whispered as she started to feel guilty about her own weakness.

It was then a little girl approached Ash, she was looking for her plush toy, hoping that she would get help, Salvia watched Ash helping the upset girl, hoping that he would be alright to do so, 'he hasn't been himself lately,' Salvia thought while keeping her eye on Ash.

"So where did you put it?" Ash asked kindly, trying to his best to remain calm, Ash looked up to see a spirit standing in front of where a house once stood, "this way," Ash told the girl quietly, as he got closer to the house, he noticed the apparition vanishing at the same time, "what does that spirit want?" Ash asked himself, trying to figure out his own mystery.

"Excuse me mister, this is where my old house was," the little girl tugged at the Aura Guardian's left arm, informing him of the location of the girl's house.

Ash knelt down and cleared up the snow, revealing a small plush toy, "is this it?" Ash asked softly.

The girl watched Ash pick up the plush toy and clean it up for her, "thank you sir," the girl hugged the trainer happily before running off to find her mother and father.

Salvia with her back turned to a tree, started smiling to herself, she glanced around the tree to see Ash walking slowly away from the house, 'he is looking after me, not only that he isn't happy, but still makes other people happy around him, he is hurting because he now thinks he is a weapon to defeat the Shadow Lords,' Salvia thought to herself, she walked away towards the Pokemon Centre, taking one more look back, she smiled at the trainer and seeing him sitting down in the snow, "Dawn, I finally realise what you see in him," Salvia admitted to herself, looking towards the pokemon centre, she covered her mouth with her cheeks starting to turn red, "what did I just say? I shouldn't have said that," Salvia told herself, looking back once more hoping that Ash wouldn't have heard her own admission.

Greed tapped her on the shoulder and quickly noticed the blush running across her face, "hey why are you blushing?" Greed asked the princess, curious about his friend's blush, he glanced over her shoulder and noticed that Ash was in her line of sight, 'oh I see, she has a crush on Ash,' Greed immediately jumped the gun.

Salvia ran off towards the medical facility hoping that she wasn't being followed, 'this shouldn't have happened, I shouldn't have a crush on Ash,' Salvia tried to deny her new found crush.

Greed watched the princess enter the Pokemon Centre but decided to remain quiet about what he had discovered, "yo Ash, we need to head out now and we cannot let Lust and Envy get too far away!" Greed yelled out to Ash who was balling some of the snow, "Ash, I am sorry for calling you a living weapon," Greed apologised to the Aura guardian, "I shouldn't have called you that, Salvia is right, you're human, that's all that counts," Greed balled up his fists in anger directed at himself.

"No it's fine Greed, I mean look what happened here," Ash pointed in direction around him, showing Greed what he was capable of, "I caused all this damage," Ash admitted to the aura burst that destroyed the local area, "I was so angry at Envy, he admitted to blowing up half of Twinleaf Town, I just lost it," Ash started hitting the ground, feeling like he let everyone down.

"Yeah I know, I tried to stop Envy from blowing up Twinleaf Town, that was when I tried to destroy him and I failed," Greed walked up to Ash and sat next to him, "hey, you can't be moping about, we need to stop him and the rest of the Shadow Lords," Greed informed Ash with a smile.

"Greed what is your intention?" Ash asked the former enemy.

"Me? To enjoy the finer things in life, food, alcohol, women, parties, money and most of all having a shit load of friends," Greed answered Ash, laughing at his own greed for a moment, he balled up a pile of snow and tossed it into the crater, "Ash, like these people, you can rebuild your life, it will be difficult, but some day you will find someone who will make you happy again," Greed tried his best to comfort the person he takes as a friend, getting up slowly and walking away, Greed took a chance to smile at his ally, 'little does he know, the person I could be mentioning to is the princess,' Greed thought while thinking about the moment he bumped into the royal and seeing her blushing.

"Greed, no one can replace Dawn," Ash informed the former Shadow Lord.

"Yes, that is true, but you cannot expect other people to be just like your fiancé, everyone is different," Greed wisely told Ash calmly, walking back towards where the princess was heading, "we will enact the plan soon, this time we have the advantage," Greed informed Ash who nodded in approval.

Ash waited for a few minutes, he looked over her left shoulder to see Salvia and Greed leaving the medical facility, Slowly standing up Ash turned towards the direction of the final battle with Lust and Envy, 'I need to make sure this doesn't fail, but at least the people of this city will be out of harm's way,' Ash thought, taking a sigh of relief, but also knew that the princess was going to be in danger, 'Greed, Salvia better not get hurt,' Ash started thinking about the safety of his friend.

**(2 Hours later)**

"Alright they are still here, we need to move quickly," Greed whispered quietly, he noticed that the princess still wasn't feeling one hundred percent, but also knew that this was their last chance to rid the world of Lust and Envy, "listen once Ash arrives, you need to go somewhere safer," Greed instructed the princess.

"Right, but what about Ash? Will he be alright?" Salvia asked the former member of the Shadow Lords.

Greed looked down at the blue haired princess and nodded, "yeah, I will make sure of it," Greed answered back with a smirk, he looked back to see Ash approaching them, 'good, this final confrontation will be so interesting with him around.

Inside the cave Lust and Envy were preparing to leave when they spotted Greed walking in with the princess her hands tied up, "so it was you who captured the princess, nicely done Greed," Envy pointed out, but Lust remained suspicious of Greed suddenly showing up in the cave with the Princess.

"Why did you show up with the princess so suddenly?" Lust asked the enemy with a serious tone.

"Oh come on, surely you know I am good at tricking other people," Greed tried to convince Lust of his intentions, "I tricked the princess and the Aura Guardian that I was on their side," Greed acted more convincingly, but still Lust was getting more annoyed at the tone of Greed. He was walking closer hoping that Ash would be ready to ambush the Shadow Lords in front of him, 'oh man, I don't think Lust or Envy are going to be convinced much longer,' Greed thought as the princess eyed him for a moment.

"I will try to act the part," Salvia whispered, but only enough to let Greed know what she was intending.

"How could you Greed? We started to trust you, didn't know you were still working for the enemy," Salvia did her best to act in a convincing manner.

"Shut up and keep going," Greed ordered the princess as they got closer to the injured duo.

Outside Ash was waiting for the signal to attack, hearing Salvia and Greed arguing, he immediately knew that Salvia was trying her best to act the part, but knew there wasn't much longer to go, "come on hurry up," Ash hissed in anger.

"No, we should execute her in front of her father and Pride," Greed's words echoed from the cave.

Upon hearing those words Ash sprang into action and ran into the cave, "now this is where it ends!" Ash yelled at the two Shadow Lords.

"Well, that is true, Lust and Envy," Greed agreed with Ash, he untied the princess and allowed her to run off, "now it is our turn to ambush you both," Greed announced, grabbing Envy by the collar and throwing him towards the cave wall, "now it is time to end you," Greed sneered at his victim.

Ash started showing his aura while Lust glared at the young man, "great this again," Lust hissed as she closed her eyes, seeing an image of someone from Ash's past, seeing the bluenette that made him happy, 'I see, so there is a woman by the name of Dawn, he loves her and still does, yet she was killed in one of our attacks,' Lust thought to herself, coming up with a counter attack.

"Ash don't let her use your weakness!" Greed informed Ash, defending himself from the attacks from the injured Envy.

"So, she is your greatest weakness, thanks Greed for making it easier," Lust glanced over her shoulder, she then turned her attention to Ash, "you know, just like you I have a special ability, I can change my appearance to the person my victim loves," Lust explained to Ash, as she started glowing in a bright light.

Ash cover his eyes to protect his vision from the blinding light, "what is she doing?" Ash asked himself as the light started to dissipate.

Greed pushed Envy back towards the wall, but was soon kicked off by his injured foe, he fell back and soon noticed the light, "oh no Ash!" Greed yelled out, he tried running towards the light in hopes to stop Lust from completing the change, but as he got closer he was stopped by Envy who had tripped him over, pinning him down he started punching Greed with a flurry of punches.

"Hello Ash," Lust appeared from the light this time with the appearance of Ash's lost love.

Ash's blue glow vanished as he started to step back, his eyes now widened as he and trying to digest what he was seeing, "Ash, get a hold of yourself, that isn't Dawn!" Greed tried his best to inform Ash, but was being him constantly from Envy, bleeding from the corner of his mouth and trying his hardest to move his arms in order to throw Envy off.

"Don't listen to him Ash, Greed is trying to trick you," Lust continued to use Dawn as a medium to stop Ash.

Ash continued to hesitate as the blue haired woman continued to approach him, 'what's happening?' Ash started to question the situation.

"Come on Ash, do you remember that special day?" Lust continued her act on Ash, still maintaining her appearance as Dawn, "I am certain Empoleon is waiting for us," she said with a gentle smile.

Suddenly Ash snapped and charged towards the blue haired woman, "you fool, Dawn never evolved her Piplup," Ash tackled the woman who appeared as Dawn to the ground, but was soon pushed back by Lust as she reverted back to her normal form, Ash hit the cave wall next to Salvia who was watching Ash struggle.

"Come on Ash, you know better than anyone that Dawn cannot be brought back," Salvia helped Ash back to his feet. Ash looked at the ground feeling hurt by having his feelings played on, "do you know what lust means?" Salvia asked calmly, glaring at the woman who was laughing at the injured trainer, "it means to hold excessive desires for the person you love," Salvia informed Ash of the enemy's name.

"I see, but what am I supposed to do?" Ash asked, seeing the princess knelt down next to him.

"It will be tough Ash, but you have to let go of your love for Dawn, otherwise it will get you killed," Salvia got back up while telling Ash the honest truth, she started walking up to Lust who was laughing at the man who was still feeling down, "she used your desire for the return and love of Dawn, but she knows that by using it you would be unwilling to make a stand, but I know full well, that Dawn would never take advantage of you," Salvia glanced over her left shoulder, moments afterwards she turned towards Lust and raised her right hand.

Ash from a distance watched Salvia slap Lust causing the woman to grow angry with the princess, it wasn't long before Envy jumped to his teammate's side, "hey you leave Lust alone," Envy ordered the princess, as he was about to punch the princess, Ash jumped in and grabbed Envy's fist. "hey you let me go," Envy demanded the Aura Guardian, with fear etched on his face he noticed the trainer growing even angrier, his eyes glowing blue he suddenly felt his fist being tightened as the pain coursed through his body.

With Envy screaming out in pain, Ash started to gain a blue aura, raising his left hand, he balled it into a tight fist, in a sudden move Envy was sent flying from the location towards the wall, Ash was quick to turn his gaze to Lust who was shaking in fear, before she could move Ash's left elbow made contact sending her towards the entrance of the cave.

"That was fast, his aura is making him stronger," Lust cleared up some of the blood coming from her nose, she landed safely but was stopped by Greed who was barring the exit of the cave, "dammit, we cannot get out of here, Envy and I are too injured to continue this fight," Lust glared at her former teammate.

"What's the matter Lust? The advantage you thought you had is no longer there, well that is your fault," Greed blamed his former ally for the situation she was in, "now what was I going to do?" Greed tried to remind himself of his intentions, placing his hand on his chin, "oh right, I was going to rip your hair by its roots," Greed grabbed the red hair of the helpless lust, "normally this goes against my policies, but since you're a Shadow Lord, I am willing to make an exception," Greed sneered at Lust who was trying to pry Greed's grip on her hair.

Lust looked into the eyes of Greed who seemed more carefree about hurting the Shadow Lord, "You have to defeat all seven Shadow Lords, that means you," Lust struggled to complete her sentence while trying to build her strength back up, "you kill us Greed there is no going back, Pride…. Will have no hesitations in killing you."

Bring his right hand back and Lust's hair still in his left hand, "going back?" Greed asked the former ally, angry at Lust who was shivering in fear, "who said I want to go back to your side?!" Greed asked before unleashing a vicious punch on Lust that sent her flying towards one of the pillars in the cave, "I never want to re-join the Shadow Lords! So you and the rest of the Shadow Lords can rot in hell!" Greed informed Lust before she was impaled by the pillar, her hair still in his left hand, he let go as Lust looked on in fear and her life force quickly fading.

"Damn you Greed….. you will pay for this…." Lust started to fade as she continued to die.

"Envy and the rest will be joining you very soon, then I will make sure the Shadow Lords never rise again," Greed informed the dying Lust.

"You…..will, die….too," the last words came from Lust who faded away due to her injuries.

"I know that, but I will die with honour," Greed turned to Envy who was staring in shock at what had happened.

"No Lust, it can't be, Greeeeeeeeed!" Envy yelled out furiously, he continued to seethe as he tried to charge towards Greed who had shown no guilt in killing his fellow Shadow Lord, "you will pay for this Greed!" Envy yelled out in anger, but as he got closer Ash appeared in front of him.

"You want revenge? Well so do I, you killed my future wife, but if it is consolation you will be joining Lust in hell," Ash informed the Shadow Lord, punching him in the stomach, causing the enemy to collapse to his knees, gasping for air, Ash kneed the enemy in the face as he was trying to recover, Ash ran up to him, grabbing his throat, Ash started punching the Shadow Lord Envy, multiple times until he started to go out of control.

Salvia was watching the scene unfold and her fear started to overcome her, "Ash, stop this, it's over now!" Salvia demanded, but Ash ignored her and continued to strike Envy with a flurry of punches, "no Ash, please stop!" Salvia yelled, but as her fear overcame her, she used a small ounce of courage and grabbed Ash's arm, stopping him from punching the almost dead Envy.

"You are…a monster," Envy started laughing at the Aura guardian, starting to fade away from his fatal injuries.

Ash let go of his enemy, he watched the Shadow Lord fall to the ground laughing at him, mocking him, "no, you are the monster, I got my revenge, now I need to destroy the rest of your kind," Ash glared coldly at his enemy.

Salvia let go of Ash's hand and stepped back, breathing a sigh of relief, "I hope he doesn't do that again, but I also hope that he doesn't lose himself," Salvia whispered as she watched Envy trying to get back up.

"You know, I hope this revenge of yours was worth it, you have made an eternal enemy Aura Guardian," Envy fell back to the ground and started laughing at the Aura Guardian, dropping the phone showing the number of the palace, "Pride, he heard everything," Envy's laughter faded as he died with a smile on his face and his disappearance from the cave

Greed walked over to Ash and trampled the phone, "there is no going back for either of us, I hope to never hit a woman again," Greed stated with a saddened tone, he turned towards the entrance of the cave, he looked back to see Salvia comforting Ash, "I am going on ahead, I will meet you both in Jubilife City," Greed informed his now permanent allies.

Ash taking a deep breath, kneeling on the ground, "revenge? Revenge doesn't feel good," Ash confessed to the blue haired royal.

Salvia put her right hand on his left shoulder, "I know, revenge is overrated Ash, even if you get your revenge, you will still feel empty afterwards," the princess explained to Ash.

Ash got up slowly and started moving towards the entrance, his thoughts were of the enemies he defeat with the help of Greed, "you're right princess, but there is still four more to go," Ash added to the royal's comments, he exited the cave with Salvia looking on.

Salvia looked around as the cold breeze started to filter into the cave, she noticed a shadow watching Ash leave the cave, "that spirit, is it following us?" Salvia asked herself, keeping her eye on the spirit as it started to vanish again, "is it watching over Ash? And why?" Salvia started to question the intentions of the spirt, she slowly got back up to her feet and walked out and she glanced over the shoulder wondering why Ash was being followed by the spirit.

Salvia exited as she was greeted by the waiting Ash, "thanks for stopping me," Ash thanked his friend, before walking ahead, leaving the princess staring at him, "come on, time to head off," Ash whispered, Ash looked at the sky seeing the flying type pokemon, thinking about the fight that was still ahead of him and the princess.

"You do know that someone or something is following you," Salvia reminded Ash, but the trainer ignored her and continued on. Salvia remained quiet and wondered what to say next, the mountain in the background with trees in front of her the clouds grew in the dark and the snow started falling again. 'It will not be easy for him, but I will make sure that Ash becomes a better person,' Salvia made her resolve, standing side by side with Ash, she looked up to see him with a unwavering expression.

* * *

_**AN: **_**Now before I go on, there is something I need to point out, I know this chapter sent the wrong message, I am not endorsing violence against women and it is a cowardly act, pure and simple.**

**This story is far from over, there are still four more Shadow Lords in play, so what will happen there? Well the next chapter will take place a week later in Jubilife City, and yes I am developing Salvia's crush slowly, it isn't a full blown crush, but it will continue to grow slowly but surely.**

**Next time chapter 8: Greed VS Gluttony 1.**

**Taking the chance to lower the rating to T, but this is still borderline M, it will not change what I am working on in this story.**


	8. Greed VS Gluttony 1

**Chapter 8: Greed VS Gluttony 1**

_**Summary: **__with their first victory against the Shadow Lords comes a new meeting between the King and Queen of the Unova region, meanwhile Greed is confronted by another Shadow Lord, this time he is on his own against Gluttony._

_**Hilbert: 21**_

_**Hilda: 21**_

* * *

With a week passing since the victory against Lust and Envy Ash and Salvia re-enter Jubilife City, hoping to meet with Greed who was instrumental in the victory against his former allies, scanning the city which was largely unscathed from the war against the Shadow Lords, "Um Ash, we haven't slept for two days, maybe we should have a rest," Salvia suggested, trying to get Ash to take a break.

"You know the princess is right," a female voice rang through the air. A woman with long brown hair wearing a white tank top with a black vest and denim shorts approached the duo with a smile, "glad we found you, it took a week to get to Canalave City and another few days to get here," the woman complained about the journey, before a man with short brown hair, wearing a blue jacket and jeans caught up with his wife, "what took you so long Hilbert?" the woman asked the man with a hint of sass.

"Well Hilda, it would have been easier if we slept last night instead of you rushing to Jubilife City," Hilbert informed the young woman.

Hilda got in Ash's face and looked at him with a great hint of curiosity, "hmmmmm, so you are the Aura Guardian Greed was talking about," Hilda inspected Ash with Salvia watching mere centimetres away, "must admit, you're quite handsome," Hilda winked at the trainer with a playful smile.

'What? She can't say that about Ash,' Salvia showing signs of being visibly upset with Hilda's comment.

"Not to worry, I am already married anyway, so I cannot take Ash for myself," the queen started joking causing Salvia to cross her arms in anger, she was about to turn away, before Hilda noticed something that she caught at the corner of her eye, 'oh it seems like someone got a little jealous,' Hilda thought while trying to hide her cheeky smile from Ash and Salvia.

"You know, I don't have the time to waste here, I need to find Greed and destroy the rest of the Shadow Lords," Ash pushed Hilda aside and walked a head to the Pokemon Centre of the major city.

"Wow, why is he this cold?" Hilda asked with her cheeks puffed up, her arms crossed and showing visible annoyance with Ash's actions.

"Well Queen Hilda, he lost his family and his fiancé because of the Shadow Lords," Salvia answered the queen's question.

"I see, so his cold demeanour is because of that," Hilda watched Ash approaching the Pokemon Centre.

Salvia bowed her head in sadness and took a deep breath, "he blamed himself for the death of his fiancé, but only recently found out who was really to blame, he got his revenge, but he now has an empty feeling," Salvia explained the Aura Guardian's situation.

**(Hearthome City)**

Sipping down a glass of wine Greed was at the bar eating another meal, grabbing a nother glass of wine, he raised the glass into the air, almost drunk from drinking, "ah this is for me not going back," Greed celebrated taking another sip of his glass of wine, with a broad smile on his face he started feeling a little giddy after the amount of alcohol he had consumed, "ah the finer things in life, would never have gotten this with the previous bastards I was associated with," Greed started laughing at his own freedom.

The bartender approached the drinking Shadow Lord, a concerned expression plastered all over his face, "excuse me sir, but I think you have had a little too much to drink," the bartender informed Greed.

Greed started laughing as he poured in another glass of wine, "what? No way, I haven't enough," Greed started sipping his wine again.

"Goofing off again are we Greed," A familiar presence filled the air in the bar.

Greed's expression quickly changed, from his carefree tone to a more serious tone, "Gluttony, what in the hell are you doing here?" Greed asked the Shadow Lord.

"I am here to take back to Pride, I need to tell you, I don't have to bring you back conscious," Gluttony informed the drinking enemy.

"Really?" Greed asked, grabbing his wine bottle, "well then I better not get captured," Greed stated breaking the wine glass on the bar and started attacking Gluttony with the broken glass with wine dripping from the jagged part, Gluttony jumped back evading the attack from the former ally, "you move pretty fast for someone your size," Greed stated with a smirk, as a table was sent flying towards him.

"You killed Lust and Envy, all Pride wants is to execute you," Gluttony confirmed the intentions of Pride.

"Let me guess, he wants to behead me?" Greed asked the former ally, evading tables and chairs, "I would rather have my head on my shoulders," Greed charged through the barrage, as he got closer he was sent flying back toward the bar with a lariat from Gluttony, "not bad, but still not good enough," Greed leapt back to his feet, dropping the half bottle on the ground and rushing towards the Shadow Lord.

"You know, you will be made to pay," Gluttony watched Greed running towards him. Gluttony was tackled through the door of the bar leading them to continue the fight outside the city, "so you don't harm the people, Pride was right, you are way too soft," Gluttony pushed Greed away from him and glared at the man whom he considered his friend.

Greed started laughing at the former ally, he stood with his back to the bar, clenching his fists ready to make another stand against his former comrade, "soft?" Greed started running towards Gluttony, with his fist readied, he punched the Shadow Lord with everyone in the streets witnessing the increasingly volatile situation.

"Is that the best you have?" Gluttony asked the enemy as a smile started running across his face.

Greed watched Gluttony lower his head as his effortlessly pushed his arm down, "what? No way!" Greed yelled out in shock, he jumped back as the former ally pushed him further back into a wall with a kick to the stomach. Greed fell to the ground with the speed of Gluttony, surprising him greatly, "great this fat bastard is fast," Greed whispered while trying his best to keep his guard up.

"It is no use, I am the fastest member of the Shadow Lords," Gluttony informed the hurting member of the Shadow Lords, Gluttony was sent flying towards one of the buildings this time he crushed causing parts of the building to fall on him.

Greed spun around with his left elbow directed at Gluttony who fell back after taking a powerful hit, "score, now to escape, I cannot fight him right now," Greed started limping away from the battle against his former comrade, hoping that the people didn't follow him, he looked back hoping that Gluttony wasn't following him as well, "that wasn't enough to keep him down," Greed whispered in frustration, but didn't waste any time to escape from the quick fight.

The rubble from the fight exploded from the area, with Gluttony coming out from underneath the rubble, "Greed, oh Greed, where are you? You cannot escape from me!" Gluttony taunted his former ally.

"Shit, I would have thought he would have cried under that rubble, cry like he always does," Greed hissed while ignoring his foe.

"Hey Greed, show yourself, unless you want people from this city to die!" Gluttony kept calling for Greed who was trying to ignore the threat.

"Damn you Gluttony, how dare you threaten the people of this city," Greed whispered, with no choice Greed turned around and walked out of the alleyway, knowing that he was heading back into a tough situation.

Upon seeing Greed, Gluttony pulled back his hood revealing a man with long black hair, holding up a young man with his right hand covering his face, "so Greed, you're still here," Gluttony taunted his former ally.

"Gluttony, put the man down, this has nothing to with him!" Greed demanded but the enemy started laughing, taking the bag of food away from him, "that is awfully original of you fatty, stealing food from people who cannot defend themselves," Greed shook his head in shame, watching him gulp down the food, allowing enough time for Greed to save the person, running up to the man, he grabbed him and pulled him away from the Shadow lord's grasp, he looked at the man and nodded, "go get out of here now," Greed instructed the man.

"That was the main course," an angry Gluttony reminded the injured foe.

"You disgust me," Greed confessed his displeasure of Gluttony's attitude, watching the man running away not daring to look back. 'Good, but there has to be a way to get this moron out of the city and away from the people,' Greed thought as he started to gain a black aura around him, "you know, holding back against you has all but ended," Greed stated while rushing towards his foe, punching the Shadow Lord and pushing him back at the same time, but the attacks seem to be having no effect.

"Come on, surely you can do better than this," Gluttony continued to taunt the attacking enemy.

"This blob is just absorbing my attacks," Greed hissed before jumping back, as he landed he was sent flying towards a building after taking a powerful lariat from Gluttony.

"And you were one of the people who defeated Lust and Envy," Gluttony grabbed Greed by the throat as he struggled to maintain his consciousness.

"Screw you and Pride, I would rather be dead than join you again," Greed whispered while trying to regain his strength, Greed kicked the Shadow Lord and knocked him back, now bleeding from the cut on his forehead and down his right arm, "damn, my right arm is broken," Greed grasped his right arm and tried to look for an escape route, "I cannot continue this fight," the anger of Greed mounted, he continued to scan the area for a road away.

Gluttony watched Greed running away, but as he ran off, he received a call, "yes Pride, I will let him go for now, you want me to head to Jubilife City?" Gluttony asked his superior, "alright, I will return to Arrowroot, the time to enact our plan will soon start?" Gluttony asked Pride to which he was given an affirmative.

"Damn, that Blimp really beat the shit out of me and now they are going to enact their plan," Greed stated while running off, with his broken arm next to him, "better warn Ash and the princess," Greed ran towards the city to the west.

"Greed you are lucky, soon the princess, the Aura Guardian and you will soon die," Gluttony told himself with great joy in the situation, turning away from the scared people he walked towards the exit of the city.

**(Jubilife City)**

Ash looked out the window with Salvia, Hilda and Hilbert looking on in concern, "that was odd, I felt this dark aura, but now it is gone," Ash asked himself his fists clenched and shaking at the same time, "was that Greed fighting a Shadow Lord?" Ash asked himself.

"You know Ash, right now, I can also sense that something happened in Hearthome City," Hilda told her new friend with a concerned tone, she turned to Hilbert who was trusting of his young wife, "Ash you can sense aura right, well I have psychic abilities as well, sadly it is only limited in power, but it is enough to tell me something bad has happened to Greed," Hilda explained to Ash who punched the wall next to him.

"What should we do?" Ash asked the brunette, glancing over his right shoulder.

Hilbert stood up and pulled out a map from his backpack, "well I suggest that we split up, Hilda and I head to Eterna City, Ash and Salvia, you head to Oreburgh City," Hilbert informed the group of the plan, pointing to the map of where they should be heading to.

"Hilbert, why are we heading to Eterna?" Hilda asked as her husband with a concerned tone.

"Well, I would be best that we go separately as we continue our battles against the Shadow Lords," Hilbert replied with a smirk, rolling up the map, he placed it back into his bag and walked towards the exit of the Pokemon Centre.

Hilda walked up to Ash and nodded at him, "it was nice to meet you Ash," Hilda gratefully told Ash with a bright smile, she looked over to Hilbert and let out a sigh, "of only I met you years ago, I would have….nah forget it, but I still admit, you are a handsome man," Hilda winked at Ash causing the princess to get a little angry at the Unova queen, Hilda noticed the reaction again and smiled at the princess. Hilda approached the younger royal and leant in, "I see you have a crush on Ash," Hilda whispered as princess stepped back in shock.

"N-n…..no I don't," Salvia tried to deny the claims of the Unova queen.

With a cynical expression Hilda placed her right hand over her chin, "ah ha, sure, I believe you," Hilda teased the princess.

Ash was at the exit with Hilbert preparing to head out to go to their next destination, "hey you two hurry up," the two men called out to their respective travelling companions in unison.

Hilda walked ahead with Salvia turning her attention to only Ash, 'it has been two weeks, yet…I still have no idea what to think about, I am scared of Ash and his anger, yet he is still a gentle person,' Salvia thought to herself her blue eyes glued on Ash.

"Princess I don't have all day," Ash called to the young royal, exiting the medical facility

**(Arrowroot Town)**

Pride walked into the throne room, lowered his hood revealing a man with no hair, his eyes were black and a dark smirk, "you know sire, your daughter is gathering an army as we speak, she intends to destroy this kingdom, assassinate you," Pride informed the king of Sinnoh.

"I still don't believe it, my daughter a traitor to the Sinnoh Kingdom," the king clenched his fist s in anger, trying to figure out why his daughter would do such a thing, the king looked up to Pride who was now exhibiting a more serious expression, "what if you are lying to me?" the king asked the Shadow Lord.

"I promised to bring your wife back, we are getting closer to doing that, but right now you need to protect your kingdom from the malicious princess," Pride started to play on the king's emotions.

"Very well, tell me where is she heading?" The king asked the Shadow Lord leader.

"Princess Salvia is heading to Pastoria City," Pride gave the information to Salvia's father.

"Very well, I will deal with my daughter in person," the king decreed, getting out of his seat and walking towards the only exit of the throne room.

Pride bowed his head, hiding his smile, "yes sire," Pride acknowledged, raising his head and glaring at the Sinnoh King, 'that's right, soon this kingdom will fall, the chess pieces are coming into play, and soon it will be checkmate,' Pride followed the king and looked back to see his own vision, 'very soon this throne will burn to the ground,' Pride thought as he walked up to the king, "I have something I need to sort out, I will be in Pastoria City soon after you get there," Pride whispered, as he looked back to see the secret entrance way.

"Alright, don't take too long Pride," the king issued his command.

"But of course, I wouldn't want to miss out on all the fun," Pride answered back, turning towards the secret entrance way, he glanced over his shoulder making sure that no one was watching his actions, "of course I will be there, to see the light in your eyes fade as well as seeing your daughter taking her last breath,' the leader of the Shadow Lords told himself of the final act of his plan.

Pride walked down the stairs turning on the light, seeing that the secret entrance was closed, walking down he heard the yelling of the other Shadow Lord down the stairs, "calm down Wrath, I am about to let you run wild," Pride walked up to the door, seeing the red eyes of the furious Shadow Lord.

"You promised me that I would be able to destroy a city!" Wrath yelled at his leader.

"How about I let you destroy a kingdom?" Pride suggested with a smirk, placing his hand on the lock, "but they will be in a city, there will also be an Aura Guardian and Greed," Pride pointed out the people that will be in the city, "the king will also be there, your mission is the destroy all of them and if you want, you can destroy the entire city," Pride instructed his confined ally.

"So, you finally start the plan," Wrath enquired, he walked up to the door showing off his blonde hair and green eyes, moving the hood over his head he waited for Pride to open the door to his freedom.

"First, you cannot be seen in the palace, and lastly, I don't think it would be wise for you to dig your way out," Pride walked up to another secret entrance way, lowering the lever a door opened to the outside, "here is another way to get to Pastoria City.

"Alright, the party can begin," Wrath celebrated, he pushed opened the door sending it flying towards the secret hallway, Pride watched with amusement seeing that Wrath was ready to fulfil his mission, Wrath ran towards the exit with Pride watching with a smirk.

Pride turned to Sloth who was sleeping on his watch, "Sloth, you can go now," Pride informed his subordinate.

Stretching out his arms, Sloth let out a loud yawn, "I will go after my nap," Sloth fell back to sleep.

"Alright, don't sleep for too long," Pride instructed his subordinate. Pride walked up the stairs knowing the time to start the plan had begun, "very soon, I will have the world in the palm of my hands," Pride told himself over and over again, getting more excited every time he said it, laughing in a crazed manner, he could barely contain his pleasure in destroying yet another kingdom.

**(Oreburgh City)**

Ash and Salvia walking into Orgburgh City, they had been walking for over three days, wondering what their new friends would be planning on doing next, "so Salvia, what is your intention?" Ash asked the blue haired royal. Salvia remained quiet refusing to make an answer, she looked at the sky and continued on without making an effort to answer, "Well?" Ash pressed the princess to reply.

"You know Ash, you should focus on what you are after," Salvia answered back, avoiding the question Ash presented her.

Ash and Salvia continued on quickly one of their allies falling to the ground, injured from a fight, "Greed!" Ash and Salvia called to the injured ally, they both ran up to him, he was on the ground as the rain started to fall.

Greed looked up and chuckled at his friends, "hi, sorry for taking so long," Greed winced in pain, as the two placed his arms around their shoulders.

"Why are you badly hurt?" Ash asked the Shadow Lord with a concerned expression.

"I got into a fight," Greed laughed at himself.

"You idiot, you weren't supposed to get into a fight, not without me," Ash snapped at the Shadow Lord who laughed even more.

"Ash, let's just get him to the hospital," Salvia suggested softly, helping out their ally as the rain continued to fall at a heavier rate.

"I am sorry to the both of you, but I have found out something horrible," Greed was about to tell them, he lost consciousness causing the two to look at one another, unsure as to what Greed was about to tell them.

Salvia looked away, and continued to walk on, with Greed's right arm around her shoulder, "so what do you think Ash?" the blue haired royal asked the trainer with a concerned mannerism.

"No idea, but if Greed says it is serious, then we have a problem," Ash replied, equally as puzzled as the princess, he looked at the unconscious Greed, knowing that he must have fought one of the Shadow Lords.

"Um, after we help Greed out, I will cook something," Salvia suggested, while helping Ash place Greed on the bed in the hospital.

Ash watched Salvia walking out of the room, wondering why she would offer to cook dinner, "the enemy is getting ready to make their move," Greed whispered to Ash, knowing full well that the princess wasn't in the room. Greed shot open his eyes and glanced to Ash, "you need to get stronger, the other Shadow Lords aren't push overs," Greed informed the Aura Guardian.

"You know, you better keep your mouth shut, the doctors will be here soon to help you out," Ash hushed the former enemy, he walked out of the room taking a deep breath, 'alright, I better get ready,' Ash thought exiting the hallway and into the main foyer of the Pokemon Centre.

Ash walked through the city on his own, thinking about what the injured Greed had told him, "so there are some that are way stronger than Lust and Envy," Ash whispered to himself, he looked up to see the mines of the city, "this place brings back memories," Ash shut his eyes for a moment thinking back to the time Dawn used her new moves in a battle against Team Rocket, something he even used himself in his rematch against Roark.

Ash walked down towards the mines and thought more about what Greed had told him, "to defeat the Shadow Lords, I need to train my aura more," Ash commented to himself not realising that someone was walking behind him, the princess who seemed to be growing more interested in Ash.

Salvia walked through the crowd her eyes glued on Ash, "just what is he planning on doing? I noticed him leaving the Pokemon Centre but why?" Salvia asked herself curious as to why Ash remained quiet about his intentions.

**(3 hours later)**

Ash had been in the mines training his aura for way too long, it was then his strength gave way and he collapsed from exhaustion, Salvia remained on the spot surprised to see Ash trying to get back to his feet, "he has been at it for nearly three and a half hours," Salvia reminded herself, but once Ash had collapsed once more she ran towards him and knelt down at his side, "alright Ash you need to stop," Salvia ordered Ash to end his training.

"But…..I-I am fine," an exhausted Aura Guardian tried to argue, but Salvia ignored him and grabbed his arm.

"I have watched you training with that aura, but you need to stop," Salvia informed the trainer, helping him back to the Pokemon Centre, "you know Ash, I haven't asked you this before," Salvia glanced over to the tiring trainer and smiled at him with a broad smile, but a sudden burst of sadness befell her, "what is your reason for fighting?" Salvia asked the trainer as she looked away half expecting a certain answer.

"I got my revenge for Dawn, mom, Johanna, Piplup and Pikachu, but for now, I have no reason to fight other than destroy the Shadow Lords," Ash answered the princess trying to keep himself awake long enough to get to the Pokemon Centre, "then let me ask you this, why are you willing to fight?" Ash asked but before he could get an answer Ash fell asleep while Salvia dragged him to the Pokemon Centre as she began to get really tired from helping Ash out.

"I am going to save my kingdom, that is what I am fighting for," Salvia answered Ash, but she knew that Ash wasn't going to hear her answer, the princess looked at the trainer and smiled, 'plus I am going to fight for someone Dawn gave her life to protect,' Salvia made her resolution as she entered the Pokemon Centre, showing her resolve to help Ash to a bed where he could rest for the night.

* * *

**Ash and Salvia finally catch up with the injured Greed and help him back to health, what will Greed tell them? And how will Ash and Salvia react to the plot? **

**Next time: chapter 9: Traps in the shadows.**


	9. Traps in the Shadow

**Chapter 9: Traps in the Shadows**

_**Summary: **__The bait is set, what will Ash and Salvia do when they find out who exactly is in danger?_

* * *

Greed woke up with his right arm in a sling, 'man, this is stupid,' the furious Greed complained, he noticed that Ash and Salvia were nowhere to be seen and that there wasn't much to do, "I need to tell them, that there is a trap," Greed sat up and turned around, knowing what dangers would befall his two friends, getting out of bed he walked towards the door, opening it and was being greeted by a woman with long pink hair, in her nurse's uniform

"No, I was give specific orders not to let you out," the woman told the Shadow Lord.

"But I need to tell my friends something important," Greed argued with a frown.

"Calm down, they will be back soon," the nurse informed the man, smiling at the man she tilted her head curiously.

Greed grew a little uneasy by the actions of the woman, "what?"

"You know, you are actually quite handsome," the Nurse told the Shadow Lord making him blush.

Greed turned around and walked back to his bed, scratching his shoulder length brown hair, "yeah, just don't get too attached," Greed replied, hiding his blush from the nurse, 'oh man, now I am exhibiting such a stupid action, damn you Ash and Salvia, what have you two done to me?" Greed started to complain about his softness towards everyone he has come across.

"My name is Melissa, nice to meet you," the nurse known as Melissa introduced herself to the Shadow Lord.

"My name is Greed, I am a Shadow Lord," Greed retorted with a frown, he glanced over his shoulder and smiled at the nurse who walked away from the room, 'must admit she is pretty cute,' Greed thought, walking back to the bed he stopped thinking about the nurse and the plot to kill the princess, 'great, I need to talk to my friends, but….." Greed stopped before he was about to remind himself of the nurse waiting at the counter and making sure that he didn't leave the room to get to them.

Meanwhile in the Pokemon Centre down the street Ash was eating one of the meals that Salvia had cooked, "still good," Ash complimented the young woman.

"You know Ash, a thank you would be nice," Salvia berated the trainer, trying to get him to act nicer, "there is one more thing Ash, since I met you, you haven't even smiled once, you have been all serious," Salvia started to point out some of Ash's colder characteristics, sitting in front of him while he continued to eat without saying a word, "well Ash, say something," Salvia tried to push the trainer into commenting.

Ash lowered the fork and looked up, he swallowed the food in his mouth, "mom always told me not to talk with my mouth full," Ash answered back, leaving the princess fuming at his response.

"Well then choke on the food," Salvia snapped back and walked away from Ash, leaving him in shock at her answer.

Ash looked at the food and sighed for a moment, 'her food is really good, it makes me wonder when she learned how to cook,' Ash wondered to himself, not daring to look at the princess who was clearly upset with him, 'I cannot smile, I just don't know how to be happy anymore,' Ash tried to answer Salvia's question, but couldn't say out loud himself.

Salvia stood outside the Pokemon Centre, her back to the wall wondering what she could do to make the trainer happy again, "I am trying, but no matter what I do, I cannot get him to change his attitude," Salvia slide down as she started to cry, 'Dawn, what should I do?' Salvia asked her friend.

Salvia looked up to see the spirit that had followed them all the way from Canalave City, "You again, who are you?" Salvia asked the spirit, but the moment she asked the apparition vanished yet again, Salvia shot up and walked over to the spot the spirit was standing on, 'why are you following us?' Salvia thought as she looked back to find that Ash was no longer sitting at the table, but walking towards the exit, 'Dawn, I don't want him being upset, so I will find the answer myself, I have a reason to fight,' Salvia resolved waiting for Ash to leave the medical facility.

"We are heading to the hospital, we need to talk to Greed," Ash informed the princess, passing her along the way.

"Alright Ash," Salvia replied timidly.

Ash walked through the town with Salvia following close behind, "why do you want me to open up?" he asked the blue haired royal.

Salvia glared at the trainer and shook her head, "don't worry about it Ash, you clearly aren't going to move forward, you are obviously to stuck in the idea of revenge," Salvia replied, crossing her arms and visibly angry at the raven haired man.

"Why are you upset with me?" Ash asked the princess, puzzled by her recent change in attitude towards him.

"Because it is clear you don't want to be happy!" Salvia yelled at the trainer.

"Who said I wanted to be happy princess?!" Ash snapped back, leaving the bluenette in shock with his question.

Salvia walked ahead of the trainer, visibly shaken up by his response, she looked over her shoulder with tears running down her face, "you know, Lady Dawn would be upset with the current you right about now, she wouldn't want you to be like this," Salvia reminded the young man, she turned around and walked towards the hospital, "she wouldn't want you to act in this manner," Salvia continued to remind her crush on what she knew about her best friend.

Ash froze, unable to walk, he clenched his fists angry that someone would be the one that was being reminded of Dawn's expectations, 'how would she know that?' Ash questioned the young royal's words towards him.

Meanwhile Salvia walked into the hospital heading towards the elevator in order to meet up with her friend, "why am I angry with him?" Salvia started to question herself about her reaction with Ash. Pressing the elevator button she waited for the door to open, thinking back to the days she and Dawn helped one another out.

**(Flashback)**

Salvia and Dawn walked through Arrowroot Town, talking about the time they exchanged places, "Lady Dawn," Salvia called for her look alike.

"Please just call me Dawn, these formalities are embarrassing me," Dawn scratched the back of her head.

"Alright Dawn, I will try," Salvia replied as the two friends walked through the town together, "what would you do if Ash lost himself?" Salvia asked her friend curiously.

"That's a tough one, I have never encountered a situation like that," Dawn informed her friend, trying to figure out what her friend meant by the question.

"Really, so with you that means he is truly happy," Salvia acknowledged her friend's place in Ash's life, the two walked on, wondering what they could get for lunch, "you know, I am really blessed to have you as a friend Dawn," Salvia confessed with a broad smile on her face.

"Alright Salvia, let me ask you, if Ash lost his happiness, what would you do?" Dawn asked her friend curiously.

"Me, why are you asking me that?" the princess asked her friend with surprise in her expression.

"No reason, I am just curious that's all," Dawn replied with a playful tone in her voice.

Salvia looked at the ground and started to laugh a little, "I would try to remind him, he is never alone or if he is really down, I would remind him that you would want him to be happy," Salvia answered her best friend.

"Oh come on, you talk as if something bad is going to happen to me," Dawn teased her friend.

"I don't think that anything bad will happen to you, you and Ash are inseparable," Salvia answered back with a proud expression.

"Well if something bad does happen," Dawn started as she placed her hands on her friend's shoulders, "I am glad you will be there when he needs it the most," Dawn reminded her friend, nodding at her.

"Now you are talking as if something is going to happen," Salvia remarked as the two friends started laughing at their own comments.

"Yeah what are the odds of something bad happening?" the two girls asked in unison, laughing at one another as the two walked towards the markets of the small town.

**(Return from Flashback)**

"What are the odds?" Salvia asked as she entered the elevator, she pressed the floor that Greed was on, "that was the last thing we asked one another, that was the last time I talked to Lady Dawn," Salvia told herself as she waited for the elevator to make it to the floor.

The elevator continued towards the next floor while the princess looked into the mirror, "you asked me once, if Ash lost his happiness, what would I do to help him?" Salvia asked herself as she stared at her mirror image, 'the truth is I have no idea Dawn,' Salvia confessed her own problems, "because he lost his true source of happiness," Salvia looked at her image, she was shocked to see the image wink at her. The princess rubbed her eyes wondering what she had seen, 'must be really tired,' Salvia thought as she turned away from the mirror.

The elevator stopped allowing the princess to walk out of the elevator, she looked around to see the nurse that promised to keep an eye on the Shadow Lord, "Greed, you were told not to leave the room, that is the fourth time today," Melissa berated the shadow Lord about his actions.

"But I need to talk to my friends, for five minutes," Greed responded but was stopped when he spotted the princess walking towards the room, "oh hi princess, so where is Ash?" Greed asked the young royal with an innocent expression.

"He will be here soon," Salvia replied as she walked into the room with Greed going back to bed.

"You know I hate being stuck in the hospital bed," Greed confessed, quickly getting a glimpse of the nurse.

"Yeah, but you would only hurt yourself more, you need to rest," Salvia informed the Shadow Lord, as she pulled out an apple from her bag.

"The hospital food, is crap and that nurse….she is a horrible person," Greed hesitated, waiting for the princess to peel the apple, "so what has Ash been doing, you don't seem your cheerful self," Greed pointed out with a concerned tone.

"Don't you worry about it, it is something I need to sort out on my own," Salvia replied with a sigh, she cut the apple up and put the pieces on a plate.

"Doing things on your own," Greed grabbed the plate and grabbed a wedge of Apple, "you know, I tried to fight Gluttony on my own, look what happened, I barely escaped with my life," Greed informed the princess of his own actions, "I was stupid, I wasn't only fighting someone strong, I was also drunk at the time," an angry Greed confessed his own foolishness, trying to eat another apple, "all I want is to enjoy the finer things in life, friends, food, wine and women, and I get is hurt for it," Greed started to beat himself up.

"Now Greed, I bet you had a good reason to fight," Salvia tried to assure her friend.

"Yeah, Hearthome City was being threatened, I couldn't let Gluttony destroy it," Greed replied angrily throwing the plate towards the wall at the other end of the room.

"You know Greed, we are very similar, we are trying to do things on our own, yet, we have both failed," Ash's voice rang in the room. The two turned to Ash he was standing at the doorway with the nurse standing behind him.

"Oh Greed what are we going to do with you?" Melissa asked her patient.

"Get out is the first thing, I need to talk to these two alone," Greed replied causing the nurse to visibly get upset with the Shadow Lord.

"You're a jerk Greed!" the pink haired nurse growled at the Shadow Lord.

"Greed that wasn't very nice," Salvia informed the former enemy.

"Well she is annoying me!" Greed snapped back after Ash closed the door, "plus….I don't want her to know…..what we are going to talk about," Greed started to hesitate, he looked over to the nurse whom had been helping him for the last few days.

"Alright Greed tell us, why are you this badly injured?" Ash asked the Shadow Lord coolly.

"No time for that, I caught the conversation between Gluttony and Pride, they intend to lure the princess into a trap," Greed explained the situation to the two friends.

"Why me?" Salvia gasped in horror.

"To finish you and your father," Ash answered.

"Correct, the trap will be in Pastoria City," Greed told Ash and Salvia, not noticing that the door was part way open.

"Again why did you tell Melissa to leave?" Salvia tried to change the subject, visibly shaking from the new information.

"Hey quit changing the subject," Greed snapped back at the young royal.

"But I am scared," Salvia confessed, not taking any note of Ash glancing at her.

"If you want to know, I don't want her involved in our battles, she is too nice, the world still needs people like," Greed answered the princess as best as he could.

"So Greed, you have a crush on Nurse Melissa," Salvia teased the Shadow Lord.

"No…..no I don't!" Greed denied the claims. But couldn't hide the redness of his cheeks. "Alright, just listen up, Salvia's dad is being used as bait to lure what they call the little mouse into a trap," Greed explained while the three people listened in.

"I another question, why do you hate the Shadow Lords so much?" Ash asked the former Shadow Lord.

"Again with changing the subject? Oh man, you two are driving me insane," Greed complained, he looked towards the door and smiled, "you can come in now, since you have heard basically everything," Greed informed the young woman who was standing outside the room.

"I am sorry Greed," Melissa apologised, bowing her head to the Shadow Lord.

"Alright, I will tell you a bit more about the Shadow Lords, we aren't immortal, as you two have found out at Lake Acuity," Greed stated while remembering the ambush against Lust and Envy.

"So you aren't immortal, yet there is something else," Melissa pointed out with a concerned tone.

"Exactly, you can call us transmigrants, which means we can restart our work, over and over again, but there is a limit, a time limit that is," Greed explained to the three people in attendance, "one hundred years, if we are killed, then our spirits are forced to wonder and wait for the next desired person to arrive," Greed explained with a frown, he took a deep breath and started to laugh.

"So that explains a little bit, but what about your real names?" Salvia asked in curiosity.

"I forgot mine that is yet another problem with the Shadow Lords, we forget everything about the people we take over and then we take on our normal personalities," Greed retorted with a grimace, he clenched his fists furiously knowing how much the real person was hurting, "and now for the past, why I hate the Shadow Lords," Greed started as he closed his eyes as tears started to run down his face.

**(400 years ago)**

A man wearing a silver set of armour, his long brown hair swayed in the breeze was walking down the road with another man, his clothing was blue and he had a wide brimmed hat, "you know Greed, you talk as if we Aura Guardians are all bad people," the man stated with a playful smirk.

"Yeah right, what about Xander, your order keeps saying all Shadow Lords are bad people, I mean look at yours truly," the silver wearing Greed pointed to himself as the continued on down the same road.

"Well that is true my friend, we really shouldn't be friends," Xander pointed out as the two started laughing, Greed pulled out a goblet and a small container of wine, "you know, I really shouldn't be drinking with you, what would the other Aura Guardians think?" Xander asked the Shadow Lord.

"Yeah, well the other six idiots I am fighting alongside, what if they find out?" Greed asked the Aura Guardian.

After the hours had passed, Greed spotted the city in ruins, the flames leaping from building to building, "what? No way, who is responsible?" Greed asked around he started running through the city looking around for his friend, "Xander, where are you?" Greed asked around for his friend. He continued to run until he spotted three shadows being illuminated by the flames.

"So, what do you think of our sneak attack?" asked a man with a proud smile directed at Xander, the man with short black hair, wearing red armour and showing his sinister black eyes approached the injured target.

"Envy, you bastard, these people are innocent," Xander berated the Shadow Lord, standing up with sword in hand.

"Oh dear me, you continue to fight knowing that your life is lost," Envy teased his foe, only to be met with Xander spitting on his face, "Gluttony, kill him," Envy ordered a much larger man to end the life of Xander.

"Envy!" Greed yelled out in anger, he tried to charge towards the his friend, but was met with an Aura Guardian who pushed his sword into the chest of Greed, "Envy, just you wait, I will…..make sure the Shadow Lords never rise again," Greed declared his intentions towards Envy, he started spitting out blood as the other Aura Guardians turned their attention to Envy and Gluttony after they had killed Xander, "and you Gluttony, I will destroy you as well, that is a promise," Greed promised his revenge on the Shadow Lords, passing away from the injury he had suffered at the hands of the Aura Guardians.

**(Present time)**

"Well that was the start of it, Envy and Gluttony did kill Xander, but sadly it wasn't over after that, a hundred years after that we were all killed by another group of Aura Guardians, then another hundred years after that the result was the same," Greed explained the following years after that.

"What about one hundred years ago?" Melissa asked the Shadow Lord.

"Yeah did something happen?" Salvia asked Greed.

"Yeah, something did happen, isn't it funny how a Shadow Lord would even fall in love with an Aura Guardian?" Greed started to laugh at his own weakness again.

"What do you mean Greed?" Ash asked the dark haired Shadow Lord.

"She had long pink hair, strong green eyes and yet she wasn't just strong as a person, she was also really delicate, she hated being the damsel in distress, her name was Melissa," Greed stated with regret, "she was also the princess of Kanto, this time I managed to save her life, but at the cost of mine," Greed explained as he remembered the person who took his life, "Lust was the one that killed me at that time, then that was when it was decided, my spirit would not rest until the Shadow Lords were completely destroyed never to rise again and here I am, already two down," Greed finished his story much to the amazement of the two people.

"You know, my origins were from Kanto," Melissa confessed with a gulp, "you were talking about my great grandmother," Melissa pointed out as tears ran down her face.

"Yes I know, you look exactly like she did, in fact you remind me of her, both strong yet tender at the same time," Greed started to get upset, "the Shadow Lords were responsible for the what happened to the Aura Guardians, I am ashamed to have ever been a part of their genocide of the Aura Guardians," Greed explained to the three people who listened to his story.

"Wait, what do you mean by genocide?" Ash was quick to ask the next question.

"It was a trap, set up by Pride, in one night all but one Aura Guardian were all killed, that one Aura Guardian was the nurse's great grandmother," Greed explained to Ash who was shocked to have heard of the story behind the lost Aura Guardian.

"Yeah, but you know that I am an Aura Guardian as well," Ash replied calmly.

"True, but you would have to have had to have been chosen as Aura Guardian, or a family member would have to been an Aura Guardian in the past," Greed told Ash as the trainer sat down quietly trying to figure out who he was talking about.

"It wasn't on my mother's side, must be on my father's side, but I haven't seen him in years," Ash tried to talk about his family, but still knew very little about what was going on, "or I could have been chosen by someone called Sir Aaron, I have no clue," Ash tried to figure out why he was chosen as an Aura Guardian.

"So there is a very good chance that it wasn't from your family, it was simply the fact you were chosen," Salvia informed Ash, trying to help him figure it out, "okay Greed, you said my father is bait to lure me into a trap, what else do we need to know?" Salvia asked the injure man in the bed.

"They are most likely going to unleash Wrath," Greed sighed knowing that Ash and Salvia were going to head out to save the king, "the one thing you both need to know, before heading out, is that Wrath was the one who destroyed the Aura Guardians in one night, his strength is unrivalled, even Pride had to chain him up," Greed explained the power of Wrath.

Ash gulped thinking about how this fight could turn the tide in the fight against the Shadow Lords, "but defeating Wrath would help us out right?" Ash asked Greed who nodded in agreement.

"Physically Wrath is the strongest Shadow Lord, but he is also the dumbest, Pride has intelligence and physical strength at the same time, he plays the situation like a game of chess," Greed explained the traits of his former comrades.

"But what about Gluttony?" Melissa asked the Shadow Lord.

"Gluttony will attack this city in a few weeks' time, to which I will be defending this city, You two will need to save the king, meaning you will need to fall for the trap," Greed explained the plan to Ash and Salvia.

"You will still be injured, you bastard," Ash retorted as the Shadow Lord started laughing.

"Well then, would you be able to help me out? All you need to do is use your aura abilities to heal my arm," Greed suggested the idea to Ash.

"No way, you will only get hurt again," Ash smirked at the new friend.

"I see you have a sense of humour that is just like Xander, joking about something like this injury I have suffered, " Greed replied as the trainer started to use his aura to help Greed with his recovery, "you know something? While I defend this city, I will be making sure the people evacuate as well," Greed promised the trainer who was continuing the healing process.

"Yeah, don't break your arms, because if you do, I will refuse to help you," Ash started laughing at the man.

"Gee thanks, you're a true friend," Greed stated with sarcasm.

The Nurse glanced at the two, "Greed you aren't stopping them?" she asked the Shadow Lord with a concerned tone.

"If I told them not to go, they still would, plus it is Salvia's father that is in danger as well as a city," Greed retorted as he felt his arm getting better due to Ash's aura. Greed looked up to Ash and nodded, "listen Ash, if things get too dangerous, take the princess away from the city," Greed instructed the Aura Guardian, as his concerns for the safety of the young royal started to become obvious, he then turned his attention to Melissa, "and you, with Gluttony coming here, it would be best for you to…..go somewhere safe," Greed ordered the young nurse,

"But what if you need help?" Melissa tried to argue with the Shadow Lord.

"No arguments, if the people are safe, then I don't have to hold back in the fight against Gluttony," Greed informed the pink haired nurse, he looked at the bandages and unwrapped his arm, he clenched his fist and smiled, "plus I can take care of myself, I am a Shadow Lord after all," Greed started laughing at his own position in the world.

"But Greed what if you're killed?" Salvia asked the Shadow Lord concerned about the wellbeing of her ally.

"Not a chance, I refuse to be killed off by the likes of that pig," Greed replied to the princess' worries, removing his cask, the Shadow Lord punched the air in front of him, "much better, you Aura Guardian amaze me to no end, it seems like I am fighting alongside one," Greed started complaining, taking a deep breath.

"Greed if it gets too dangerous, get out of there," Ash ordered the Shadow Lord, calmly.

"You know it's a trap and yet, you two will fall for the trap, man Ash you're a handful, that is just like Xander, he too would fall for a trap in order to save a stranger," Greed placed his left hand over his forehead, "just be careful alright," Greed showed more concern for the trainer and the princess. Greed watched Ash walking out of the room hoping that he had listened to him, 'Xander, I hope you are watching him, Sir Aaron, I know you will too,' Greed hoped to himself, preparing for his fight against the other Shadow Lord.

Ash and Salvia walked down the hallway towards the elevator, "so what next Ash?" the bluenette asked the young man, wondering what he was thinking about.

Ash looked back with a serious expression, he placed his hand over his chin, "before we head to Pastoria City, I want to head over to Twinleaf Town," Ash declared as the two made it to the elevator.

"But wouldn't digging up the past be painful?" the princess asked in a worried tone.

"Yes it would, but it might also help me at the same time," Ash replied while entering the elevator with Salvia.

* * *

**With Greed's history being told, it is time to rescue the Princess' father, but knowing that this next fight is a trap, what will Ash find in Twinleaf Town?**

**Next time chapter 10: Reslove of a Princess.**

**alright I will make a confession, I have actually written a fair bit of the story already, the amount of chapters you guys are seeing is only half of what I have typed.**


	10. Resolution of a Princess

**Chapter 10: Resolution of a Princess**

_**Summary: **__returning to where Ash felt the most pain, he discovers something that will change him, Salvia soon makes another promise to herself, as well as meeting the Unova king and Queen all before heading to the next battle, with a new enemy surfacing._

* * *

Ash entered Sandgem Town having not been in the small town for some time, he was quick to notice the number of soldiers had dwindled down to a small number, but the air of unease was still in the atmosphere. Scanning the city he spotted Professor Rowan who was talking to a starting trainer, he seemed like he was getting ready to start his journey for the very first time, "you know princess, one day I would like to restart my journey," Ash said in a saddened tone.

Salvia noticed the shift in Ash's personality, it was the first time he showed a hint of sadness and not his angry self, "you can do that now if you want to," Salvia was quick to suggest the intention of the trainer.

"No, not now, I need to deal with the Shadow Lords," Ash quietly answered back, turning away from the lab and heading out of the small town, almost as fast as he had entered it.

Salvia ran up to Ash who seemed like he was in a hurry, "so what are you going to achieve by coming to Twinleaf Town?" Salvia asked the Aura Guardian with a puzzled expression.

"You need to know that Twinleaf Town was Dawn's home town, I want to see it again," Ash admitted to the princess, walking ahead of the young royal.

Salvia stood still, looking at the back of the trainer, "liar, you are living in the past," Salvia whispered inaudibly.

"What was that?" Ash asked the princess.

"Nothing Ash, let's go," Salvia lied to Ash, hiding what she already knew about his intentions, 'great now I am lying to him,' Salvia criticized her words, she walked up to Ash who stopped in front of a tree, "are you alright Ash?" Salvia asked the raven haired man.

"Here is where Dawn is, after she passed away from her injuries after saving my life, I buried her here," Ash informed the bluenette.

Ash walked a head hiding his tears, not noticing the princess walking up to the grave, she looked down and noticed that an item had been dug up, "hey Ash, what is this?" Salvia called to Ash.

Ash ran back towards the grave and looked down, in shock he spotted a golden ring, still intact and with the gems in place, "that's the engagement I gave Dawn," Ash stepped back in horror, trying to figure out what it meant, "she tried to give it back to me, I buried it with her," Ash fell to his knees, still in shock at what was going on, it seemed like no one was around to steal it.

"Maybe Ash, she still wants you to hold on to it," Salvia pointed out while staring at the ring.

"Leave it there, it still belongs to Dawn," Ash snapped back, placing his right hand over his head, 'Dawn, are you trying to tell me something?' Ash questioned the bluenette.

"Listen Ash, you need to know that Dawn might be feeling like she broke her promise to you, I think that black spirit is actually Dawn," Salvia theorised as she looked up to the scratching on the trunk of the tree, "maybe you are too busy keeping a promise that you cannot possibly keep," Salvia placed her hand on the names on the tree.

Ash took a deep breath and looked up to the bluenette who turned her attention to him, smiling at him, "why are you telling me this?" Ash asked as he spotted a spirit next to the princess, this time it was more obvious in who it was.

"Come Ash, you cannot expect to move forward if you stay the way you are," Salvia walked up to Ash, but was tripped on the way to the trainer, Salvia sat up and noticed the ring moving into her hand, 'Dawn, you want me to give it back to him, but why?' Salvia asked herself, trying to figure out what her friend was conveying, 'oh right, you cannot keep your promise but as for Ash…..' Salvia looked up to Ash and accepting the ring at the same time, 'you want him to be happy and not mopping about,' Salvia acknowledged her friend's choice.

"Come on princess, we need to get to Twinleaf Town," Ash started walking back to the town, ignoring the fact that Salvia had placed the ring in her pocket.

Salvia looked back to the tree and nodded, 'whatever it is Dawn, I will help Ash out, you have nothing to worry about,' Salvia promised her friend with a nod. Placing her hand over her pocket she rushed up to Ash who still had tears running down his face, 'one day, I will try to make you happy,' Salvia turned her attention to the road as they continued on, without looking back to the tree, 'but first I need to save my father,' Salvia promised herself as she walked up to the hill.

**(Orebugh City)**

Greed ran out of the hospital happy to escape, "alright, all that shitty hospital food, and that nurse all gone, now for the finer things in life, fine food, wine and women," Greed laughed out loud, he looked back to see the doors closing, but he also knew a more serious task was about to befall him, "I need to get ready, I am not going to be beaten by Gluttony again," Greed promised himself, he walked off, but soon stopped, "what are you doing here?" Greed asked the person.

"I signed off, my day's work is finished," Melissa replied with a gentle smile.

"Listen, if you stick with me, you will only get hurt, princess," Greed informed the nurse seriously.

"Why did you call me Princess?" Melissa asked the Shadow Lord.

"That's is what you are, your great grandmother was a princess," Greed quickly answered the young woman.

"You told me to leave, because you didn't want me involved, why?" Melissa asked the Shadow Lord.

Greed looked at the ground and started to laugh again, "because it is best that the other Shadow Lords don't find out, the Kanto Royal Family are supposed to be all dead, including you, for now, you need to stay as a nurse," the Shadow Lord informed the Kanto Princess of the situation.

"What are you after? You make the Shadow Lords out to be all evil and here you are being nice, you were betrayed and yet, you committed many crimes, well?" Melissa asked the Shadow Lord, furious that he would keep it quiet from even his friends.

"Alright, I will answer it as best as possible," Greed submitted with a deep sigh, "I want the Shadow Lords destroyed once and for all, the world cannot go through their reign of terror, I want to repent from my sins by saving the people of this world from them," Greed told the nurse with a smile, he turned around and put his left hand on her head, "thank you for helping me out, I will repay you the best I can," Greed promised the woman with a nod.

"How about a date?" Melissa suggested with great hope.

Greed turned away from the young woman, he looked back and grinned at the nurse, "I think I will pass, maybe some other time," Greed refused the date offer from the nurse.

"Alright Greed, you behave yourself," Melissa watched the Shadow Lord walking away from the Hospital, 'he needs to open up, he really is a gentle person,' Melissa thought to herself as she turned back towards the hospital, 'I don't believe it, I thought I was an orphan, but my family line is a royal family,' Melissa remained perplexed by what she had learned.

Greed stopped and stared at the mountains, "redeeming myself from my sins?" Greed asked himself, taking a deep sigh, chuckling at his proclamation, "that would be easier said than done, but…..I will save this world and bring an end to the Shadow Lords," Greed promised himself, he looked back and watched the nurse who had helped him, "Envy and Lust, you're right I have gotten soft," Greed whispered to himself as he turned away and started to get to the city limits, he continued to walk but looking back once more, "but I prefer it that way."

**(Near Twinleaf Town)**

Salvia looked down at the destroyed town, trying her best to hold back her tears, "it hasn't even been repaired in how long?" Salvia asked the trainer, noticing his growing anger immediately.

"Three weeks," the raven haired Aura Guardian hissed in frustration, staying fixated on the destroyed town.

"If my father was his normal self, he wouldn't have abandoned this place," Salvia tried her best to keep Ash calm, but even she was getting visibly upset with the town that was completely blackened by the Shadow Lords.

Ash scanned the town, before he started walking towards the bleak sight, "you stay here," Ash ordered the princess.

"No," the princess quickly snapped back. Salvia put her hand on the pocket where the ring was, "I am going to make sure you don't do anything stupid," Salvia informed the trainer, but he continued walking towards the painful past.

After thirty minutes Ash walked through the streets with the Sinnoh Royal following him, the trees were completely flattened and the houses destroyed, "why hasn't the king done anything?" Ash whispered as he continued down the road, the cars which had crashed in the trees, remained in place.

Salvia looked on both sides of the street noticing that there was no one alive, "Ash," Salvia called to the man, but he remained quiet, "what happened here?" Salvia asked the trainer.

Ash lowered his vision and looked at the streets, "Envy and the Shadow Lords set up some explosives to set up the Unova forces, Greed tried to stop him, but it was too late," Ash answered solemnly.

"But don't you think there were more than just explosions Ash?" Salvia asked the man, she looked around to see more of the destruction, "like over there Ash," Salvia pointed to a part of the town which wasn't consistent with the explosions that destroyed a part of the town.

Ash ran to where Salvia was pointing, he looked around to see that someone had ran through the buildings with great momentum, "what is this? I never noticed this a few weeks ago," Ash asked as he walked closer to the building, he entered the building to find that everything was destroyed, "this wasn't random, no, this was deliberate," Ash spotted everything in the building destroyed or completely burnt.

"It seems like there was more than one Shadow Lord involved," Salvia called to Ash who was still inspecting the destruction inside the house.

Ash walked out wondering what had happened, "it seems like the only thing we do know is that this Shadow Lord, is that he has to remain moving," Ash placed his hand on his chin, looking at the other houses that had been decimated by this foe, "but why?" Ash asked as he glanced over to the royal who shrugged her shoulders and shook her head.

"Maybe this Shadow Lord has to remain moving or his heart will stop, don't think this sort of fury needs to keep moving no matter what?" Salvia questioned Ash who looked back at the house in shock.

"Wrath, was the one who did this, then that means the only way to defeat Wrath is to stop him from moving," Ash started to figure out how to defeat Wrath in a fight, Ash looked back at the house wondering what the plan was to be, "okay so we know Wrath's weakness, but there is still Sloth and Pride," Ash stated with a concerned tone.

"You have a plan?" Salvia asked the Aura Guardian with a slight hint of optimism.

"Almost, but that doesn't explain why they attack Twinleaf Town," Ash retorted as he looked around with a frown.

Salvia glanced over her shoulder and noticed two people walking around the town, "hey is that?" Salvia started running towards the two people.

Ash remained standing thinking about the attack on Twinleaf Town, "it was too convenient to be random, explosives and now this, Just what are the Shadow Lords after?" Ash started asking himself as he watched his friend chasing after the two people, "the first hint might have come from what Greed told me about killing the king of Sinnoh, then there is the fact that the Shadow Lords destroyed their biggest rivals, the Aura Guardians, "but there is more, I can sense it, it is cold, dark in fact it is malicious," Ash whispered to himself.

"Hurry up Ash, Queen Hilda and Hilbert are here!" Salvia called to the Aura Guardian.

Shifting his attention to the top of the building Ash continued to scan the block for the mysterious presence, 'there is something else,' Ash thought, walking up to the Unova leaders.

"Yo Ash, it has been a short time," Hilbert smirked at his friend.

"Yeah, it has, we have been here for a little while, but I knew you would be here," Hilda said as her expression soon turned to concern, "you can sense it too, can't you?" Hilda asked Ash leaving the other two worried about her words.

"Yeah, I have felt a dark presence since arriving here, it isn't the Shadow Lords they are nowhere near this town," Ash commented as he looked over his left shoulder to find that no one was around. Ash walked passed the other three people and approached a house that, it was mostly destroyed, but there were some parts of the house intact, "this is Dawn's house," Ash reminded the three people behind him, he pushed the door open and noticed that everything inside was completely destroyed.

Salvia was quick to enter, she looked around and gasped in horror, part of the back of the house was gone, but with only parts of the stairway remaining with, Ash put his backpack on the floor and walking up to the unstable stairs, "stay here," Ash whispered, he placed his right hand on the stairs and started walking up the steps slowly.

"Wait Ash, you can't be serious, those stairs look like they could collapse at any time," Salvia warned the young man, but he ignored her and continued up.

"She's right Ash, the foundations of this building are almost none existent," Hilbert continued to warn Ash, but the Aura Guardian continued to ignore the concerned pleas of his friends.

"Wait, you two, he will be fine," Hilda stopped Salvia and Hilbert from warning Ash about the dangers, she watched her friend walking up the stairs carefully, she only grew concerned when his foot fell through the stairs, but that didn't stop Ash, 'he will find something important in Dawn's room,' Hilda said with a smile.

"So Queen Hilda, why did you and Hilbert go to Eterna City anyway?" Salvia asked the Unova natives.

"We were investigating something in Eterna City, you know the Shadow Lords were never alone, but then again Ash already knows this," Hilda answered the blue haired royal.

"That's right, we heard rumours in Unova about a secret trio, not like the Shadow Triad we have in Unova, but something much worse than that," Hilbert explained to the young royal, they looked up to find that Ash had finally reached the next floor, he walked around the corner and out of sight from his friends, "Ash is an Aura Guardian right?" Hilbert asked the bluenette calmly, Salvia nodded as she remembered the time she found out in Snowpoint City, "you see, our problem is that Ash isn't the only Aura Guardian in the world," Hilbert stated with his fists clenched in anger.

"Why is that a problem?" Salvia asked her friends.

"Because they are pure evil," Hilda replied with a saddened expression.

"There are five, Ash is one, the other one is in hiding and the other three, I am certain you can feel their presence now," Hilbert told the young royal, "Hilda can, but she is scared of them, so she refuses to tell how close they really are," Hilbert reminded the princess, as he glanced at his young wife who was shaking in fear.

Meanwhile upstairs Ash walked into Dawn's room, he looked around and noticed that part of her room was gone, he walked slowly towards her desk and noticed an envelope, he picked it up and opened it, "did Dawn write something?" Ash whispered, opening the envelope, he grabbed a chair and pulled out the paper inside, "is this her message?" He asked himself. Reading the letter with Dawn's voice echoing in his mind, the trainer read each line carefully.

**(Flashback)**

Ash and Dawn sat at the top of the hill, staring at the sunset together, with the bluenette resting her head on his left shoulder, "you know Ash, I have been waiting for this day for a very long time," Dawn felt Ash's arm wrapping around her, pulling her in closer, "I love you Ash," Dawn whispered as she felt the gentle breeze cause her hair to move back slightly.

"You know Dawn, we have been traveling for a while now, but we haven't planned for the future," Ash pointed out while the blue haired coordinator, quickly looked up towards Ash, "what?" Ash started to chuckle.

"A future ha, well, I would like to have a family with you, marry you and even own a nice home in another region," Dawn stated her interest in her future plans with Ash as her husband, "you know, my promise to you is to love you for eternity," Dawn promised Ash who strated blushing as the bluenette finished her speech.

"An eternity? That is a long time," Ash joked with his girlfriend.

"Come on, I just want you to be happy," Dawn replied with a cheery tone.

Ash stood up and watched the golden disc fall below the horizon, Dawn stood next to him and grabbed his left hand, their finger's entwined, the looked at one another lovingly, before they closed the gap, kissing one another with the fiery display behind them.

**(Return from the Flashback)**

"For eternity?" Ash asked himself as he continued to read the letter, "in this world or the next, I will always be by your side," the letter finished, Ash got up holding back his tears, placing the letter back in the envelope, he walked out of the room, closing the door behind him and walking back towards the stairs, he looked down to see that his friends were still there, "hey guys," Ash greeted the three people.

Ash walked down the stairs with the house beginning to shake as the foundations started to give way, "hurry up Ash," Salvia pleaded with Ash, she watched him running down the stairs and landing in front of the three royals.

The four people exited the house as fast as they could, Ash looked back to see the house collapse in a heap of wood and tiles, "so what did you find?" Hilbert asked the Aura Guardian.

"Hilbert, that is none of your business," Hilda snapped back with anger, Hilda approached the trainer and put her hands on her shoulder, "one day Ash you will find happiness again," Hilda assured her friend, but he ran off wiping away his tears.

"Hilda, you know he is in pain right?" Salvia asked the Queen, but she nodded, she looked back at her Sinnoh counterpart, "where will he find his happiness? Who will give it to him?" Salvia asked the Hilda, trying her best not to let her anger explode.

"Well, I can tell you, but I think it would be best to keep it a surprise," Hilda informed the princess, as she left to follow Ash.

Ash walked around the corner and stopped, he glanced around the corner as the same sensation was felt from a short distance away, "alright, you three, you can come out now," Ash growled at the three entities that were following him.

"Oh, it seems like this Aura Guardian is worth toying with," A man with short brown hair appeared from one of the streets, wearing a black shirt and Jeans with his Black trench coat.

"I was wondering how long it would have taken for you to make an appearance," Ash glared at the person, the person rushed towards him, readying his fist to punch Ash, Ash followed with his own Aura powered punch. The two fists made impact causing a powerful shockwave to destroy the rest of the standing buildings, they leapt back Ash in shock at what had happened, it was then he noticed Aura coming from the man's fist, "you, you're an Aura Guardian," Ash stated with surprise.

"Well done, you discovered my little secret, but I am not the only one," the Aura Guardian proclaimed as another man wearing the same attire but with red hair appeared from the building next to his comrade.

"Where is the third one?" Ash asked the person with anger.

"Calm down, she will be here soon," the man replied, as he noticed the other three people rushing up to Ash, "oh it's the princess of Sinnoh and the King and Queen of Unova," he calmly stated with a smirk.

"Who are you?" Ash snapped out his question.

"Me, I am Shade," the Aura Guardian known as Shade introduced himself to the four people in front of him.

"I am Hollow," the other person introduced himself to Ash and his friends.

A woman with long blue hair wearing a pink skirt and boots, a white tank top and black vest appeared from the trees, Ash stepped back in horror at what he was seeing, "what? She looks like Dawn," Ash whispered stepping back as the woman approached him.

"Dawn? No my name is Dusk," she introduced herself coldly, "but I must admit, you would make a valuable addition to our team," Dusk smirked at the trainer placing her hand on his face, trying to be gentle with him, she smiled at the man but she was pushed back by the princess, "who are you?" Dusk asked the princess.

"You look a lot like my best friend, but there is no way, you are anything like her," Salvia angrily decreed before pushing the Aura Guardian back, "never put your hands on Ash! That is not your right!" Salvia yelled angrily as she glared at the Aura Guardian.

"Dusk stand back, we aren't interested in an unimportant princess, the useless king and queen of Unova, we are here to formally inform the Aura Guardian, that we are here to destroy him," Shade started to laugh at his new enemy.

"Just who are you three?" Ash questioned the three Aura Guardians with his fist clenched tightly.

"We three are known as the Dark Aura Masters," Hollow informed the shocked people in front of him.

"We knew about you, we followed you and we are the ones who caused you to explode with anger, unleashing your power against Lust and Envy," Dusk confessed to the trainer as she turned her back towards the trainer, "as for your precious Dawn, well we needed a trigger, Envy played a part, but you were our target," Dusk enlightened the trainer of the events surrounding the death of Dawn and his family.

"Dusk, that is enough, he is already shattered enough as it is," Shade stopped his teammate, "as for the other Aura Guardian, she isn't worth the effort, but you on the other hand, you are much more interesting to toy with, meet us at Celestic Town, there we will talk more," Shade started taunting Ash who was still in shock at seeing another look alike, "maybe I might be able to divulge something really interesting," Shade promised the Aura Guardian before leaving with Hollow and Dusk.

Ash watched the three Dark Aura Masters walking away, his eyes still glued on the female member of the Dark Aura Masters, "there is no way, she looks like Dawn," Ash stepped back, trying his best to figure out what was happening, Ash lowered his vision, staring at his hands,, gulping, ignoring the people around him, "what am I going to do?" Ash asked himself.

Salvia raised her hand and slapped Ash across the face, Ash looked up and spotted Salvia who was in tears, "I will tell you what you are going to do!" Salvia yelled at Ash, she lowered her hand seeing the red mark on his face, "you are pick yourself up, you have been down on yourself for way too long, that isn't like the person Dawn loves, that isn't the person I admire, you are better than that!" Salvia trying to get Ash to pick himself up.

Hilda tried to approach Ash but was stopped by Hilbert, "no, he needs this," Hilbert stopped the brunette.

"But…" Ash tried to make a comeback but was stopped by the princess who was crying because of his sadness.

"No buts, you see someone that looks like Dawn and you fall apart, what about around me? I look like her," Salvia enquired as she pointed her finger at the trainer, she pulled out the ring from her pocket, "you see this?" Saliva asked the Aura Guardian, showing him the engagement ring he gave Dawn, "this ring landed in my hands, it flew into my hands, it is a sign from Dawn herself, she wants you to go forward," Salvia grabbed Ash's right hand and forced the ring into his hand.

"I broke my promise to her," Ash solemnly stated as he looked at the ring.

"You broke one promise, it was outside your control," Salvia argued back, removing her hand from Ash's. the princess turned away and started walking, "the past might hurt, but what hurts the most is living in the past, walk forwards with no regret, I know when I save my kingdom, whatever I do, I will do it with no regrets," A determined Salvia walked away from Ash who was in shock at the princess' speech.

Hilda approached Ash, he was looking at the ring, "are you alright?" Hilda asked the young man.

Again looking at the ring, he then turned his attention to Salvia, "yeah I am fine," Ash started laughing at himself, he placed his right hand over the part of his face that was still tingling from the slap he was given, "I needed that, never expected it to come from her," Ash scratched the back of his head embarrassedly smiling at the princess.

"But what about the other Aura Guardian?" Hilbert asked his friend quickly.

"Salvia!" Ash called to the princess, "thanks for slapping some sense into me," Ash thanked the young royal, putting the ring back into his pocket, he looked at his other friends, "we are heading back to Oreburgh City, we aren't going to fall for that trap, but we will save the King," Ash decreed as Salvia turned her attention to Ash, feeling surprised by the Aura Guardian's declaration.

"Thank you Ash," Salvia whispered, knowing that part of the real Ash was back.

'Even though, we still have a long way to go, I am not throwing anything to the wayside,' Ash promised himself, walking slowly towards the princess with the other two royals following close behind him.

* * *

**With the Dark Aura Masters now coming into play, Ash will try to change the conditions the battle against the Shadow Lords. **

**Next time Chapter 11: Greed VS Gluttony 2: intervention**

**This chapter also introduced the Anti-Hero of the story, have a guess at who it is, the hint is that it is one of the three Dark Aura Masters, I think it should be pretty obvious too.**

**please review and tell me what you think, there is really one more introduction to a villain, but that will happen in another 12 chapters from now**


	11. Greed VS Gluttony 2: Intervention

**Chapter 11: Greed VS Gluttony 2: intervention.**

_**Summary: **__Greed does battle against Gluttony, this time there is a battle to protect someone who he seems to have grown fond of, but as things start to go badly for Greed, reinforcements arrive to turn the course of the battle, but will it be enough? All the while a chance meeting is about to take place._

* * *

Dusk walked back towards Sandgem Town, thinking about the orders of her friends, "why am I the one to follow this order? Couldn't those two fulfil the task themselves?" Dusk whispered the question, wondering what she has to do with Ash and Salvia, 'who am I? why do I feel like I know those three?' Dusk asked herself as she continued on, she looked at her hands and wondered what was next for her, "I have hurt innocent people, even killed them, all in the name of the Dark Aura Masters, yet when Ash saw me, he spotted a different person, he saw me as this woman named Dawn," Dusk told herself as the words of Ash started to ring in her mind.

**(Flashback)**

"You know Dusk, you need to get the aura of your counterpart," Shade instructed the female Dark Aura Master, he glanced over to Hollow and winked at him.

"Why do I need to get it?" Dusk asked her teammate with a serious expression.

"Come on Dusk we have been working together since we found you, we have helped you out, but all we want in return is for you to return the favour," Hollow informed his ally with his hands on her shoulder.

"I doubt that," Dusk retorted with a frown.

Shade walked up to Dusk and turned her towards the city, "you know, we did promise to answer your questions, heck we even gave you a name, since you don't remember your original name," Shade informed the young woman.

"You also promised to answer my questions when the time is right," Dusk tried to get her teammate to answer her questions.

"Not yet, the time isn't right, first you need to follow our mission, then by the end we will tell you everything," Shade assured the young woman.

**(Away from Flashback)**

On the road heading towards Oreburgh City, the Dark Aura Masters were heading towards the major city in hopes of making sure that they helped in the destruction of the city and the Shadow Lord Greed, "Shade, are you sure that we can use her anymore?" Hollow asked his friend calmly. Shade looked back at his ally and nodded.

"Like I care, she is only useful to us, because the Aura Guardian sees her as a different person, by taking the remnants of his lost love's aura, we can kill two birds with one stone," Shade turned towards the city, he walked towards the city looking around as the people looked at them strangely, 'these people don't know what will befall them,' Shade thought to himself as he did his best to find Greed.

"Shade, what will happen with the Aura Guardian?" Hollow asked his comrade quickly.

"I am not worried about him, he made his weakness very clear when we met him, using Dusk to exploit those weaknesses will get rid of both problems," Shade answered back as he looked over to find Ash walking with the princess and the royal family of the Unova Region, "but as for now, we let the Shadow Lords toy with them, we head to Celestic Town," he told his teammate with a smirk.

Ash continued down the road leading to Oreburgh City, with his thoughts on the woman he met in Twinleaf Town, 'she look like her, but she is nothing like her,' Ash thought, trying to think about the reasons why this was the case.

Salvia walked up to Ash's side and tilted her head, "you know, you shouldn't worry too much about the appearance of one person, she looks like Dawn, but she obviously isn't," Salvia assured the Aura Guardian, placing her hands behind her head, she looked up to the sky and smiled, "I can still see it in your eyes, you still seek revenge," Salvia informed the trainer much to his surprise.

"Since when can you start reading me like a book?" Ash asked the young royal, the question upset the princess walked ahead of the other three.

Hilbert walked up to Ash and shook his head in shame, "smooth Ash, real smooth, she is really concerned about you and all you can do is push her away," Hilbert stated as he looked towards the princess, "you need to let people in your space, what happened weeks ago will be tough to accept for a while, but you cannot keep pushing people away, that is how you lose yourself and your friends, right now she is the best friend you have," Hilbert explained to Ash about his current situation.

"Maybe I don't want people to get too close to me," Ash snapped back at the king of Unova.

"Oh right, so when all those people close to you try to help you, you are going to come up with that, let me guess, you are blaming yourself for what happened, considering that it was outside your control," Hilbert told Ash, but the trainer turned around and grabbed him by the collar, "what are you going to do? Punch me?!" Hilbert asked the trainer who let go of his collar.

"You have no idea, I lost the people closest to me and here you are telling me to open up!" Ash yelled at the Unova Royal, Salvia ran up to Ash and grabbed his left arm to prevent him from completing the action he was about to do, with Hilda preventing the enraged trainer from starting a fight with her husband.

"Stop it Ash," Hilda instructed the raven haired trainer.

"Yes, don't do something that you will regret later," Salvia pleaded with Ash, she moved her hand slowly towards his and gently made him let go of the collar, Hilbert shrugged off the dust from his shirt and placed his right hand on Ash's shoulder.

"Listen Ash, you cannot afford to lose your cool when someone tells you as it is, that is what will get you into trouble," Hilbert stated while walking ahead, he looked back and smiled at the Aura Guardian, "since I am not in Sinnoh as the king of Unova, but here to help rid the world of the Shadow Lords, I will let this slide, but pull that stunt again, I will hurt you," Hilbert threatened Ash with a playful smile.

**(Oreburgh City)**

Greed looked around the city making sure that everything was going to be fine, he was alone in the sprawling city, he looked around to find that the people were doing their shopping, or even spending time with their families, Greed looked up and spotted the clouds heading towards the mountains that dominated the region, "it seems like there is a storm brewing," Greed thought out loud.

"I have been here for over a week and still nothing, but the peace will soon be shatter, I need to be ready," Greed reminded himself, he looked up to the sky to see the regional flying pokemon flying in formation.

"Greed, why are you alone?!" Melissa asked her crush.

"Oh great, I am being followed again," Greed sighed with disdain, he looked back and frowned at the woman, "what are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to get ready to leave this city in case my former comrades showed themselves," Greed stated the problem to the nurse.

"You know better than anyone that my job is to make sure the people are alright, if they get hurt then it is my responsibility to help them out," Melissa argued with the Shadow Lord.

"Fine, then I will make sure no one gets in your way of helping the people out," Greed walked off towards the northern limits of the city, 'I can sense it, there is a heavy feeling in the air,' Greed thought, the wind started to pick up blowing off the hood covering his head. The shadow Lord looked back to see that Melissa wasn't walking through the streets and was at the entrance of the hospital, 'she is too kind, but she is right she needs to make sure the people are alright,' Greed thought to himself as he turned to walk back into the large city.

At the mountain entrance east of the city a large man walked out of the cave and looked down at the city, "now it is time to hunt down Greed," Gluttony glared at the city, he started his approach of the city and with a broad grin he started to get even more excited about fighting Greed once more, "oh this fight will be fun," Gluttony started cheering.

Greed looked back to see Gluttony in the distance, "not now," Greed started running to the hospital, he entered quickly to find the Kanto Princess, "hey have you seen Melissa?" Greed asked the attendant at the counter.

"Yes she checked in moments ago, she will be helping a patient out soon," the woman said with a proud smile.

"Alright, get as many people out of here as soon as possible," Greed instructed the attendant.

Before the woman could respond loud screams were heard in the distance, people started a panicked charge towards the western side of the city, "just get the patients out of here," Greed ordered the woman in a hurried tone, he rushed out to see where the commotion had started from, he scanned the area and found nothing of concern, but the people were still running away from something.

"Greed!" a chilling voice rang out through the air.

Greed looked up to see Gluttony approaching him, Greed jumped back avoiding the attack from the enemy, "oh great you came here sooner than expected," Greed hissed, frustrated that he wasn't able to escape from his former comrade, "so Gluttony, how much did you eat this time?" Greed asked the Shadow Lord with a calm smirk.

"Lots of food," Gluttony replied with a smirk, hitting his stomach with great pride.

"I see, so it will be easier for me to make you suffer from indigestion," Greed joked with his former ally, he rushed towards the larger enemy and punched him in the stomach, but Gluttony didn't flinch, he looked down at Greed and with a dark smile, used his large arms to start his attack, Greed jumped back to avoid the attack, "not only did you eat so much food, it slowed you down," Greed whispered.

"I am still stronger than you," Gluttony informed his quarrel.

"Dammit he is right," Greed admitted with a look of displeasure.

Greed looked around hoping that there was a safe spot for the him to flight Gluttony, 'if I can get him out of the city, the people will be safe,' Greed thought to himself as he ran towards the Shadow Lord, he started punching the much larger enemy towards the eastern end of the city, but with one swing of Gluttony's right arm he was sent flying towards the building.

"You aren't going to get away that easily," Gluttony decreed while running towards his foe,

"Who said anything about getting away?" Greed sneered at the Shadow Lord, he fell to the ground and looked up, he started to chuckle at the foe, "you really aren't that bright," Greed started charging towards the enemy, he started pushing the enemy, but it felt like he was pushing an immense weight.

"I will not move that easily," Gluttony taunted the former ally. But as he was about to make his attack, he felt Greed kicking him, he staggered back, but it wasn't enough to prevent the Shaodw Lord from being phased by the sudden attack from Greed, "is that it?" the larger fighter asked his enemy, laughing at him.

"No, there is plenty more, you stupid blimp," Greed retorted, he rushed at the foe preparing to punch him, unleashing an unrelenting flurry of punches and a few picks thrown in the mix Greed managed to push Gluttony away from the panicking crowd, he looked back to see Melissa attending to the injured people, "hurry get them out of here, I can only hold him off for a short time!" Greed yelled out.

"Oh a tasty morsel," Gluttony bypassed the former ally making his way to an unaware nurse,

"Not a chance!" Greed yelled out to his enemy, he rushed towards him and tripped him up, preventing him from, "Melissa get away from here now!" Greed yelled his instructions out to the nurse.

Meanwhile Ash entered the city seeing that dust was picking up in the middle of the city, "what's happening?" Ash snapped out his question.

"There is a fight happening, it seems like Greed is fighting another one of him," Hilda answered the trainer, she looked around to find the people running around.

"Right, you lot stay here and help the people, I am going to assist Greed," Ash announced his plan.

Salvia took a deep breath and looked away, "be careful," Salvia requested.

"I will," Ash promised, he ran off leaving the other three behind, he ran into the city to help his friend out in the fight.

Shade stop at the top of a building watching Greed struggle in his fight against Gluttony, he turned to the westered part of the city and spotted Ash, a broad smirk crossed his face, "now the true game begins," Shade whispered as he became more amused at the panicking people as well as the Shadow Lords destroying parts of the city.

"So the Aura Guardian finally showed himself," Hollow remarked as his ally sat down to watch the battle against Gluttony.

"Yes, things are about to get interesting, let's see how our enemy handles himself in this fight," Shade kept his gaze firmly on Ash.

Ash kept running until he was stopped by Greed who landed in front of him, Ash knelt down to help Greed back to his feet, "so who are we up against?" Ash asked the Shadow Lord.

Ash looked up to see a much larger man, "well, there you have it, Gluttony," Greed answered with a hint of sarcasm.

"Alright so how do we deal with him?" Ash asked in shock.

Greed looked around to find that more people were still hanging around in the city, "well we need to either get the people out, or move him away from the city, your choice," Greed answered as he glared at the foe, cracking his knuckles to prepare for the fight, "be careful, this guy is deceptively strong, he defeated me in Hearthome City," Greed pointed out with a frown, thinking about his battle against Gluttony in the other city.

Ash started to glow blue, glaring at Gluttony who was laughing at the trainer, "this game ends now," Ash growled at his foe. He ran towards the larger foe with balls of aura forming in his hands, he pushed the balls of aura in to the body of Gluttony, causing him to be sent flying towards one of the buildings, "ha too easy," Ash smirked at the enemy as the building started to crumble around him.

"It's not over yet, he wouldn't fall that easily," Greed stated while looking around to see more people running away from the fight.

"That was a good warm up," Gluttony stated as he exploded out of the rubble, much to the dismay of the Aura Guardian, "now for the main course," Gluttony charged towards Ash who was caught off guard. Ash leapt back avoiding a lariat from Gluttony, "I am nowhere near as weak as the other two," Gluttony taunted the trainer as he continued on with the attacks.

"I need an opening to attack," Ash whispered to himself, he jumped back once again avoiding Gluttony's slam on the ground. Ash placed his hand on the pokeball, shaking at what he might have needed to do next.

"Do what you need to do now!" Greed tackled his enemy away from Ash.

"I cannot do it," Ash whispered as he removed his hand from the red and white device.

**(Jubilife City)**

Dusk looked back seeing the smoke rising in the distance, remaining calm knowing what was going on, "I was wondering how long it would have taken to start the fight, Shade and Hollow are there as well," Dusk whispered, her eyes glued to the column of smoke.

"What's going on in Oreburgh City?" one of the citizens of the city asked in shock.

Dusk returned to her mission, she had a grin on her face, feeling the adrenalin of the fight all the way from where she was, "that Aura Guardian is there too," she whispered to herself as she continued throw the city, not wanting to waste any more time with watching the battle from the distance, "I don't have the time, I need to hurry," the bluenette reminded herself.

"Ash, there is something familiar about you, but I don't know what it is," Dusk started to tell herself as she thought about her first meeting with the trainer, 'then there is the princess, why do I feel like I know them from somewhere, yet my memories are non-existent," Dusk told herself as she, slowing the pace her advance towards the next town.

Glancing over her right shoulder one more time she kept her attention on the column of smoke, "I will be there soon to shake things up a little," Dusk promised herself, walking quickly towards Sandgem Town.

**(Oreburgh City)**

Ash and Greed glared at the Shadow Lord, he was laughing at them, mocking them for not being as strong as he had hoped, "an Aura Guardian and a traitor, I have been waiting to defeat the last Aura Guardian and you Greed," Gluttony confessed his interest in destroying them, he charged towards the two men and threw another powerful punch at the trainer.

"Oh man, he is fast," Ash whispered, he jumped back and held his ground again, he started to glow blue as he started to charge up his aura for a counter attack, 'if I use too much aura I will not be able to use it for a few days,' Ash thought as he started to assess the situation which was getting worse for him, "I have no choice," Ash muttered to himself, he rushed at the larger enemy with two balls of aura in each hand.

Greed watched the Aura Guardian pushing back the former ally of his, "he is using too much Aura, if he keeps this up, he might not be able to use Aura for a few days," Greed watched in shock as Gluttony was hit by a few punches encased in the blue Aura.

Sitting down at the top of one of the buildings, Shade was enjoying the fight, "oh so he plans to risk it all for one win, this is going to get interesting," Shade whispered at the show he was watching.

"What if he wins this fight?" Hollow asked his teammate with a concerned tone.

"No, I don't want this game to end too early, plus, we have a certain issue we need to deal with," Shade informed the other Dark Aura Master of his intentions, Hollow looked at the friend with a concerned expression, "that's right Hollow, our beautiful little pawn will be joining the fray soon enough," Shade started laughing as he knew about the growing situation with Dusk, "she still thinks we will be giving her an answer to her questions, too bad for her we have no intentions of giving them to her, plus we also have another little piece of the puzzle," Shade explained the plan to Hollow as he looked down to see the princess at the tent city with the people still shocked at the battle to save the city.

**(Near Sandgem Town) **

"So this is where you're buried," Dusk stared at the ground, thinking about her meeting with Ash, "you threw away everything for him, but the truth is," Dusk sighed heavily.

The wind started to pick up, causing the tree to sway and the leaves to pick up blowing around, as the leaves dropped an image of a person appeared in front of Dusk, with long blue hair and in her pink skirt, boots, with a white tank top and black vest, "hello Dusk, it is so nice to meet my darker side," the woman called to her counterpart.

"Darker side, then you must be Dawn," Dusk hissed at the spirit of the young woman.

Dawn tilted her head as she smiled at the Dark Aura Master, "I see you are wondering why I sacrificed myself to save Ash, do you know why I did it?" Dawn asked the doppelganger, who was growing impatient with the spirit.

"Then tell me already," Dusk growled at the ghost of Dawn.

"I saved Ash, because I love him," the gentle spirit replied with a warm smile, "I was thinking at one stage to give you my will, but someone else is far more deserving of that," Dawn knelt down in hopes that the ring was gone, "you know, all I want is Ash to move forward with his life, to be happy," Dawn confessed as the Dark Aura Master listened to the coordinator's words.

"The princess, who looks like the both of use, she is too soft," Dusk reminded the ghost with a smirk.

Dawn turned to the other bluenette and smiled, "no she is strong, but she has a lot of issues to deal with," Dawn reminded the blue haired aura master of the resolve of the young royal, "right now she is tending to the people whom she will one day protect as queen of this region," Dawn stated with a proud smile as she looked down at the wilting wreath at the base of the tree.

**(Near Oreburgh City)**

Salvia stood out of her tent waiting for the fight to come to an end, the princess gulped in the hope that Ash will make his return, "hey princess, we need your help, this person has a broken leg," Melissa called to the young royal from the tent.

"Right, I am on my way," Salvia responded with a nod, she entered the tent where the person was crying in pain.

"Help, my son, he is still in the city!" one of the people started to panic about the loss of their child.

Salvia jolted into action and headed out to find the child, "Melissa, I am going to find the child, Hilda and Hilbert you help Melissa out," Salvia instructed her two friends as she ran off towards the dangerous scenes in the city.

"Princess Salvia, be careful!" Hilda called out to her friend as she entered the tent to help out the injured.

Shade watched as the young royal entered the city, on her own and in search for the lost child, "either way this could get much more interesting," laughed the Dark Aura Master, watching the unsuspecting royal, seeing her running towards the battle to find the lost child, "I can sense it, she is looking for a lost child," Shade continued to laugh as the battle continued on a mere hundred metres away from her current location.

Ash continued to pummel the larger enemy with his punches, but tried to show no signs of relenting, "oh man, he is just taking my hits, what's going on?" Ash asked in frustration, seeing that Greed was getting ready to call out his pokemon.

"This isn't going to be as easy as the first two," Greed stood next to Ash.

"Yeah, I can see that, but what is this guy?" Ash asked the Shadow Lord standing next to him.

"He is one of the three most powerful Shadow Lords, even I am a low ranked Shadow Lord," Greed informed the trainer with a concerned tone.

"What? You never told me you had ranks!" Ash snapped at his ally in anger, feeling like he was never told of the system the Shadow Lords were using.

"You never asked," Greed retorted as he watched Gluttony vanish from the battlefield, "damn it, he has left the battlefield, we better find him and fast," Greed ran off to find his former ally, leaving Ash perplexed by friend's comments.

"The Shadow Lords, who are they?" Ash asked himself as he grew more doubtful in the abilities of Greed, "he said that Gluttony was the third strongest member of the Shadow Lords, so what does that mean about Wrath and Pride?" Ash asked himself, looking around for the enemy that had almost forced him to use up all his aura, 'damn, I am almost out of aura as well,' Ash started to complain about the situation he was in.

"I see, she he has almost overused his aura," Shade whispered curious as to how this battle was going to go.

**(Near Sandgem Town)**

"Why are you still here?" Dusk asked the ghost of Dawn with a frown, "you should have crossed over, and yet, you cling to this world, in hopes of achieving something," Dusk stated while the ghost looked away with a hint of guilt.

"You're right, I should be crossing over, but something is preventing me from doing exactly that," Dawn's ghost stated with a saddened expression.

"Unfinished business," Dusk looked away with disdain, "why?" she asked the bluenette as she glared at the spirit.

* * *

**Next time Chapter 12: Morning and Evening**

**Dusk and Dawn have started their conversations, but the battle to save the world continues on, what will Dusk discover about her role in this battle? **


	12. Morning and Evening

**Chapter 12: Morning and Evening.**

_**Summary: **__Dusk arrives at the burial site of Dawn, but soon discovers that she is nothing but a scapegoat, in the plots of Shade and Pride._

* * *

Dusk stood in front of the spirit of Dawn, they looked at one another, "why hasn't your spirit left this world?" Dusk coldly asked the much more positive spirit of Dawn. Crossing her arms the two girls stared at one another, Dusk staring coldly and with little to no care, "well, tell me, what is holding you to this world?" Dusk continued to interrogate the spirit

Dawn tilted her head, "so this is another mirror image, it seems like there were more copies of me than just the princess," Dawn stated with a warm smile.

Dusk remained calm and glared at the bluenette, "I am here to take your aura, but you are going to stop me anyway," Dusk walked closer to the spirit, she looked over to the tree to see the inscriptions, "tell me, why are you so important to him?" Dusk questioned her doppelganger, placing her hand over the love heart.

"It seems like you have had a terrible life haven't you?" Dawn asked the bluenette softly.

"I don't remember my past, but all I do know is that I have to destroy Ash, he is my sworn enemy," Dusk professed as she lowered her arms.

"So, you don't know, but why are you siding with Shade and Hollow?" Dawn asked the doppelganger with a concerned expression.

Dusk looked away as she started to turn away, "they both promised that they would help me find my past," Dusk answered back quietly.

"So you aren't evil," Dawn pointed out much to the chagrin of the Dark Aura Master.

"What do you mean?!" Dusk asked angrily as she punched the spirit, but phased through it, she looked back and lowered her gaze, "oh right you're a spirit," Dusk remembered as she calmed herself.

"You're after my aura, is there a reason behind it?" Dawn asked the double of her curiously.

"Yeah, I was sent to get your aura so we can kill the Aura Guardian," Dusk replied with a dark smile.

Dawn's spirit burst out into laughter, she turned towards the Dark Aura Master and sat next to her, "do you really think that tricking Ash with my Aura would work?" Dawn asked her darker self.

"What do you mean by that, I don't care what I do as long as the mission of Pride and Shade are successful," Dusk informed the spirit grimly.

"You know you could be a hero to this world," Dawn suggested with a sense of optimism.

"I don't want to be a hero, I am more interested in make Ash's life a misery, heck I might even take away his new light," Dusk glanced over towards the spirit of the Sinnoh native.

"I see, so you don't want to help them out, is there a reason why you don't remember your past?" Dawn asked Dusk about her reason for not knowing her past.

"How the hell should I know? But then again I am not interested in learning about it," Dusk snapped back leaving the spirit to shake her head in amazement.

"Then I will not tell you, but maybe you should ask Shade and Hollow, why they sent you to get my aura, even though there isn't much left of it, I am guessing only a few weeks before it is completely depleted," Dawn explained to the young woman as she looked to her in shock, "by taking it here and now, you would be releasing the rest of it and my mission might go unfulfilled," Dawn told the doppelganger of her problem.

"Mission? What mission is it you're talking about?" Dusk asked the spirit of Dawn.

"To make sure that Ash, gets back to his normal self, not living in the past, I really do want him to be happy," Dawn answered the Dark Aura Master, she looked up to the sky to see the sunset, Dawn looked over to the hill, "follow me to the top of that hill," Dawn's spirit pointed to the top of the hill, she vanished leaving Dusk perplexed by the intentions of the spirit.

Dusk looked at the grave and started to think about why she was at the location to begin with, "what does she mean by making Ash happy?" Dusk asked herself, she started to feel compelled to follow the spirit of the young woman up to the hill.

After making it to the top of the hill Dusk looked around to see the surrounding area, she noticed Lake Verity, the road heading to Sandgem Town and of course Twinleaf Town, "hey what is this about? Is this your favourite area in Sinnoh?" Dusk asked in frustration, she tried to find the ghost of Dawn and figuring out what she was trying to tell her.

"You know why I like this hill?" Dawn asked as she pointed towards the horizon.

Dusk looked towards the setting sun, "this is where you and Ash had your first date," Dusk replied as she watched the sun setting in the distance.

"Correct, it took him over a year to confess, but I must admit, I wasn't much better," Dawn started laughing at herself as she sat down on the hill.

"It took you twice as long right?" Dusk asked the bluenette to which she confirmed the Aura Master's suspicions, "humans really are idiots aren't they?" Dusk asked the doppelganger.

"Yes we are," Dawn answered back with a cheeky grin.

"You know something, I get the feeling we have meet before," Dusk professed her interest in Dawn.

"Why do you say that?" the spirit asked the Dark Aura Master.

Dusk looked away trying to avoid the question, "forget it, I shouldn't have said anything," Dusk retorted coldly, "but why don't you tell me what I need to know," Dusk suggested quietly.

"Alright Dusk, the other reason why taking my aura will not work is because Ash has already accepted the fact that I am dead already, by taking my aura you are asking for death," Dawn explained to the best of her ability, Dawn looked towards the sunset and smiled, "don't you think life is more precious than someone's aura?" Dawn asked Dusk, leaving the young woman puzzled by the question.

"Why do you ask that?" Dusk answered with her own question.

"Ash hesitated in hurting you because you look like me and the princess, isn't it wrong to take advantage of that?" Dawn asked the bluenette curiously.

"I don't care about wrong or right, but if what you say is true about Shade and Hollow using me as a scapegoat, I will torture the answer out of them, but don't think for a second that I am not setting my sights on destroying Ash," Dusk explained to the ghost of Dawn, she stood up and looked toward the sunset once more, "this sunset is really nice," she said with a more composed expression.

"Is there a reason why you want to hurt Ash so badly?" Dawn asked her darker self.

"The Aura Guardians are my sworn enemy, even Greed is a problem to the Shadow Lords," Dusk informed the other copy of her as she started to vanish.

Dawn stood up and sighed at the doppelganger, "you know, I cannot allow you to hurt Ash, even the princess isn't going to allow for it, she might not be an Aura Guardian, but she is strong enough to make sure Ash is safe," the ghost stated as she left the scene leaving the Dark Aura Master perplexed by the declaration.

Dusk stood on the hilltop, thinking about why Dawn wouldn't stop defending Ash, "why? Am I missing something?" Dusk asked herself as she turned towards Sandgem Town, "I think I better get some answers from those two idiots, but I might as well get some answers from Ash as well," Dusk resolved her choice, she glanced over her shoulder and then towards the grass, "cannot wait to see how well they explain themselves before I kill them," Dusk whispered as she started walking towards Sandgem Town.

**(Oreburgh City)**

Ash walked through the town searching for Gluttony, getting frustrated with the man who was hiding, "where is that blimp?" Ash asked himself, walking towards one of the alleyways, he glanced around the corner with no one there.

Greed also looking around for his former comrade, "yo Ash, have you found him yet?" Greed asked his teammate calmly.

"No not yet Greed, how can someone so large be so difficult to find?" Ash complained as he continued to scan the city for Gluttony.

"Oh it seems like those two are having a difficult time finding Gluttony," Shade whispered to himself as he looked down to see the princess also helping to find the Shadow Lord, then noticed Melissa who was walking into the battlefield, "and of course the weak Aura Guardian," Shade smirked at the young woman.

"What about Dusk?" Hollow asked his friend.

Shade smirked at the other Dark Aura Master and looked towards the distance, "what about her, she is nothing but a scapegoat, she gets the Aura of Ash's weakness and she will be killed, then we take her aura," Shade informed Hollow of the plan to destroy Dusk, he started walking towards the road leading to Hearthome City, "let these fools play this little game, we have something more interesting to attend to," Shade admitted to his ally, the two walked off, leaving the city to it's fate.

Meanwhile Ash looked up at Mount Coronet, "Shade and Hollow were there, but Dusk wasn't," Ash whispered to himself he glanced around to see the princess walking through the streets of Oreburgh City, "what are you doing here?" Ash asked the young royal.

Gluttony spotted the princess and charged at her, "now to devour you," Gluttony told the princess, as he got closer Ash with his fist clenched a powerful burst of Aura, as he jumped up the royal Ash punched him and sent him flying towards the building Pokemon Centre.

Ash turned to look at the princess, "idiot I told you to stay where it is safe, why did you wonder out into a dangerous area?" Ash asked the princess who was shocked to hear Ash chastising her.

"I was looking for a child who got separated from his parents," Salvia replied with a frown.

Ash scanned the area in hopes of finding the child, he quickly pointed to a building which was on the verge of collapse, "there, the child is in there," Ash told the princess, "I will help too," Ash informed the princess.

"No, you deal with Gluttony, I will save the child," Salvia replied, she ran off to find the child only to look back and see Ash searching for the enemy, 'one day Ash, I will be of some use, right now, all I can do is get in your way,' Salvia thought to herself as she entered the building and started her search for the child.

Ash walked up to Greed who was still searching for his former comrade, "he got away, that fat bastard," Greed hissed, he looked over to the mountains, "Shade and Hollow are going to be a serious problem, they might have walked away, but there is a good chance that they could return to save Gluttony," Greed explained the problem to Ash who nodded in agreement.

"Yeah and Dusk isn't with them, I am worried, what if she is somewhere else set to ambush the camp of the people?" Ash's concern started to grow for the people's safety.

Greed put his right hand on his chin and looked towards the camp, "doubt it, she would have done something by now, she hasn't done that, plus I sense that she isn't a total threat, she could be a useful ally one day," Greed explained to Ash who was looking over to the building Salvia entered, "don't worry about her, she will be fine, it is you that I am worried about," Greed confessed with a smirk.

"Thanks," Ash snapped back with disdain, they recommenced the search for the Shadow Lord who remained in hiding, "it would be easy for me to use Aura sensing but, I have almost used it all up fighting Gluttony," Ash started walking onwards to where he last saw Gluttony, "Greed, what else should I know about Gluttony?" Ash enquired calmly.

**(Sandgem Town)**

Meanwhile Professor Rowan was working with another trainer who was making his choice, "alright young man, time to choose your first pokemon," the professor instructed the starting trainer, but before the boy could choose his pokemon the doors swung open revealing a woman whom seemed familiar to Professor Rowan, "what Dawn? I thought you were dead," the shocked professor questioned the young woman with shock.

"Shut up, my name isn't Dawn, my name is Dusk," the woman introduced herself to the professor intimidating the other people around her, "I might look like her, but I can assure you, I am nowhere near as nice as Dawn," Dusk stood in front of Rowan who stared into the eyes of the young woman.

"You do look like her, but your personality is opposite to her," Professor Rowan stepped back a little fearing the young woman, "what do you want?" Professor Rowan asked the bluenette.

"Simple I want a pokemon," Dusk answered the question, she pushed the boy aside and inspected the pokemon, "if you want to know what my intentions are, I am going to destroy the Shadow Lords and the Dark Aura Masters and if Ash gets in my way he will fall as well," Dusk declared her intentions to everyone in the room.

"You are going to use pokemon as weapons? I cannot allow it," Professor Rowan enquired, watching the blue haired woman inspecting the pokemon, "what makes you think you can use pokemon in that manner?" the professor watch as Dusk continued to inspect the three starter pokemon, ignoring him.

"Hey I was going to choose first," the child informed the young woman.

"Can it pipsqueak," Dusk growled at the starting trainer, "haven't you ever heard of the saying Ladies first?" Dusk enquired as she looked down at a small blue penquin pokemon, "you," Dusk pointed to the small pokemon who looked at her with a concerned expression, "I need your help," Dusk requested the starting pokemon.

"Dawn chose the exact same pokemon," Professor Rowan whispered as he watched the young woman picking up the pokemon.

"Hey I was going to choose Piplup," the child complained as the bluenette walked passed him, ignoring the complaining of the child.

"Don't worry kid, I am certain he has hundreds of Piplup, so you can choose another one," Dusk glared at the starting trainer. Approaching the elderly professor, with the pokemon of her choice in her grasp, "now that I am a trainer, I need a pokedex and pokeballs," Dusk informed the Sinnoh pokemon expert.

"You are not a trainer, nor would I allow you to train a pokemon," growled the professor staring into the eyes of the bluenette.

Dusk started to glow a purple aura causing the professor to tremble in fear, "listen up, if you want Sinnoh to be safe, then you have no choice, give me one of those pokedexes and pokeballs," Dusk demanded of Rowan, glaring at him as the people inside the lab started to stand back as the young woman formed a sphere, and threw it at one of the shelves, causing the shelf to topple from the explosion.

"I don't like your way of convincing me," Professor Rowan stepped back towards the cart holding the pokedex.

"I am not after your approval, in fact I don't really care for your opinion," Dusk hissed as she walked toward the cart taking a pokedex and five pokeballs, she recalled the water type pokemon and started making her way to the exit.

"You look like Dawn, but I can tell you are nothing like her," Professor Rowan pointed out.

"I have been told that a few times, I am glad I have nothing in common with someone as soft as her," Dusk snapped back, leaving the professor stunned at the insult of one of his finest starting coordinators, "nor am I interested in being anything like her," the bluenette, professed her disdain towards her counterpart, she exited the building with the pokeball in hand, she looked back to see the starting trainer getting his first pokemon, 'kid, when this conflict is over, you will be able to journey safely,' Dusk thought to herself as she walked towards the next road.

Professor Rowan looked out the window watching the Dark Aura master leaving the small town, "she has a role to play in the defeat of the Shadow Lords, but I am concerned about her attitude," Rowan whispered, placing his hand on his chin, he ignored the starting trainer's pleas to give him a pokedex and five pokeballs.

**(Oreburgh City)**

"Found you, you bastard," Greed jumped down after spotting the Shadow Lord, cracking his knuckles he started smiling at his foe, "you know, making sure the people weren't around also helps me fight, since there aren't innocent people in the area, I can fight at my full strength," Greed started to remove his black trench coat, revealing his red shirt and blue jeans, "I have always hated you shadow Lords, for killing friends and taking my love away from me," Greed threw the coat on the ground, charging towards the larger member of the Shadow Lords.

Ash was trying to find the shadow Lord, but was stopped when Greed was thrown towards him, "damn you Greed, why couldn't you wait?" Ash asked with frustration.

"Well it seems like my anger towards my former comrades overtook me," Greed wiped away some of the blood coming from his mouth, Greed got up and watched as Gluttony emerged from the alleyway, "well Ash, it seems like you falling for that trap was a blessing in disguise," Greed cleaned up some of the dust on his shirt.

"You whatever, just don't expect it to happen all the time," Ash answered back as he walked towards the front line, he ran towards Gluttony with his right fist glowing, before Gluttony could react, Ash landed a vicious punch on the Shadow Lord sending him flying towards the building, "get up from that one! If you can!" Ash yelled at his foe.

Much to the surprise of Ash, the Shadow Lord stood back up and acted like nothing had happened, "that was a good one, but it isn't good enough," Gluttony ran towards Ash, catching the Aura Guardian off guard, he started to shuffle back as with the Shadow Lord throwing a few punches, "I am faster than you think," he taunted the young man.

"I told you don't be fooled by his appearance, he is faster and stronger than you think," Greed informed Ash, who was evading each of the attack, "fine," Greed clenched his fists and rushed towards the Shadow Lord, but as he got closer a powerful arm swung towards him knocking him away from the battle, he was sent flying towards the wall of a building just feet away, injuring him at the same time, "oh great now she will be pissed," Greed complained, grasping on to his right side.

"Greed!" Ash called to his ally showing even more concern for him.

"I will be fine, but, don't stop moving, he has a massive weakness, the more energy he uses to fight, the sooner he needs to eat, which means he will slow down making it easier to defeat him," Greed explained the weakness of Gluttony to Ash.

"How long is that?" Ash asked as he took a powerful hit from Gluttony, but shrugged it off like it was nothing.

"Judging from the way you took that hit, I would say another fifteen minutes and Gluttony will be completely helpless," Greed got up slowly and watched as his new friend continued to evade the attack and Gluttony's movements became sloppier, slower and even seeing how exhausted he was becoming, "that's it Ash, keep going," Greed whispered as he watched Ash take another punch from Gluttony, but the punch was too weak to do any amount of damage to the trainer.

"So you seem to have run out of energy," Ash growled as he grabbed the wrist of Gluttony, removing his fist from his face, he glared at the Shadow Lord, "so how about we turn the tables a little," Ash smirked at his foe, punching him with his other left hand, the Aura Guardian sent the enemy flying towards the wall causing him to cry out in pain, "not easy to fight on an empty stomach, but don't worry, I am certain no one will save you," Ash taunted the Shadow Lord, he charged towards him but was stopped by a ball of purple aura, Ash leapt back to avoid the attack, standing in front of him, was Shade, "well I thought you left the city," Ash hissed at his rival.

"Well you thought wrong, Gluttony is still needed, so you killing him is out of the question," Shade informed the Aura Guardian, helping the injured Shadow Lord up, he charged towards Ash and with his right fist raised he was set to punch the trainer, "and since you are exhausted, your reaction time will not allow you to dodge this so easily," Shade announce punching the rival Aura Guardian.

Ash flew back towards the building, without any amount of control the Aura Guardian crashed into the wall, wincing in pain, "I am not done yet," Ash growled at his foe.

"Give it up, you haven't the energy to continue fighting, the only reason why you had a chance against Gluttony, was because you have Greed on your side and Gluttony hasn't had a thing to eat," Shade informed the trainer while helping his ally away from the battle, "too bad for you, you might of won this battle if you actually made an effort," Shade taunted Ash who fell to his knees.

Ash watched his enemy walking away from the battle, he started to hit the ground in anger, "Shade, you will suffer, just you wait!" Ash promised his foe, but was ignored by the Dark Aura Master. Ash quickly collapsed because of his injuries from the fight, much to the concern of Greed who got to him as fast as possible.

**(15 minutes later)**

Greed helped Ash towards the camp where the people were, Salvia looked up to see Ash was being helped away from the city, she quickly ran up to Greed and Ash, "what happened?" Salvia asked Greed, but was more concerned for the injured Aura Guardian.

Greed looked at the ground and shook his head, "we had the battle won, but as Ash was about to land the winning blow, he was stopped by Shade, Gluttony got away," Greed answered the princess, looking away with a pained expression.

"What so he was injured by Shade?" Salvia asked the Shadow Lord.

"Not only that, he took a considerable amount of hits from Gluttony, he might have a few other injuries as well, luckily for me I was winded, but Ash…." Greed helped the man towards the bed, in the tent city, "he took a powerful hit from Shade who knew that Ash was exhausted," Greed seeing the attack on Ash who was tired from the fight with Gluttony.

"I see, so he was able to keep up, but when another enemy showed up, he was easily beaten," Salvia looked down at the trainer who was unconscious from the hit he had taken, "Greed, I will help him, you go and help Melissa with the people," Salvia instructed the Shadow Lord.

"Yeah, I am scared of her, there is no way I am going to put myself at risk, I might get hurt even more than I am now," Greed started to chuckle but winced in pain from the injury he took.

'He also has a fever too, is that from the aura he was hit with?' Salvia questioned herself, removing her right and from his forehead, Salvia quickly glanced over to Greed and then back down to Ash, "please, just go, he helped me out when I wasn't well, it is about time I repay the favour," Salvia grabbed a cloth and placed it on the trainer's head.

"Alright, I will go, but please make sure he is alright," Greed pleaded with the young woman, he walked out of the tent and looked back, seeing the young royal helping Ash with his injuries.

"There you are, I was worried about," A female voice sounded causing Greed to jump back in fear.

"M-Melissa, how did you know I was here?" Greed asked the nurse with a scared tone.

"Easy, Queen Hilda told me you were here," Melissa retorted with her hands on her hips, she walked up to Greed, "why in the world would you force your friends to get me out of the city?" Melissa started to point at the Shadow Lord.

"Because I don't want you getting hurt," Greed snapped back, softening the expression of the Kanto Princess.

"I see, so you do care about my wellbeing," Melissa stepped back with her arms crossed, she looked over towards the tent where Salvia was helping Ash from his injuries, "Hilda did say Ash would get injured," Melissa stated with a concerned expression, she walked away with Greed following her, "since you aren't badly injured, I need your help, since you are the hero who saved the lives of countless people," Melissa informed the Shadow Lord.

"It was Ash that did all the work, I am not taking any credit from him," Greed informed the young woman.

"Oh so you choose to be modest about your role in the situation," Melissa teased the Shadow Lord.

"So what, all I seek in life is the finer things," Greed confessed, but Melissa wasn't buying watching him walk away, she titled her head and smiled at him, 'I used to be tough, but now, I find myself exactly like these people,' Greed started to laugh at himself.

"You're such a softy Greed," Melissa whispered gently, as she watched Greed helping a little girl find her parents, "you don't realise it, but you have a heart of gold, that is enough to make anyone rich," Melissa pointed out with a proud smile.

Meanwhile back in the tent Ash woke up seeing the princess helping him with his injury, "hey, what are you doing?" Ash asked the young royal.

"Oh you're awake," Salvia stopped her treatment of Ash.

"Yeah, but why isn't a doctor helping me out?" Ash asked the young royal.

Salvia looked at the ground and smiled, "I might not have the power you or Greed have, I might not be as strong as anyone else you know, but I still want to help you with your revenge," Salvia informed the trainer.

"No, this is no longer about revenge, it is about saving the Sinnoh region and the world, it is about saving your kingdom," Ash replied with a serious expression.

Salvia turned away with tears streaming down her face, "thank you Ash, you're the best," Salvia started to cry, she got up and walked out of the tent, she looked up to the sky hoping that Dawn was watching over him, 'Dawn, he is slowly but surely coming back,' Salvia thought to herself as she cleared away her tears.

* * *

**With the Dark Aura Masters causing even more trouble an injured Ash will soon come face to face with Dusk**

**Next time chapter 13: Echoes from Beyond.**


	13. Echoes from Beyond

**Chapter 13: Echoes from Beyond.**

_**Summary: **__with the escape of Gluttony and him and Salvia running out of time to rescue her father, Dusk appears to cause her own bit of trouble, but he isn't ready to fight, leaving it up to the princess to stand her ground._

* * *

Ash with his arm in a sling emerged from his tent, he noticed the people feeling safer, letting out a gentle smile, he looked around to see if the princess was alright, "she even nursed me back to health," Ash chuckled as he spotted his friend running away from an angry woman, "hey Greed why are you running away?" Ash asked but was ignored by the Shadow Lord who ran passed him.

Melissa stopped in front of Ash, "hey, have you seen Greed, he ran away as soon as I told him that, he needed to gather some food and then he ran in the opposite direction," Melissa explained the situation to Ash.

Ash shook his head and pointed towards Jubilife City, "he went that way," Ash answered the Nurse, revealing the direction of the Shadow Lord, she ran towards the Shadow Lord not even thanking the trainer, "it seems like those two are really close," Ash chuckled at the misfortune of his friend, but as he started walking down the road, a sense of seriousness surrounded him, 'what do we do with Shade, Hollow, Gluttony and Dusk?' the trainer asked himself as he remembered the fight against the Shadow Lord.

Meanwhile in the city Shade was helping he hungry Shadow Lord, "you know there is plenty of food for you to eat," Shade pointed out with a smirk showing him a candy store, then pointing at a pizza story, "if they exploit your weakness once more, there will be no way we can help you," he smirked at the Shadow Lord who burst in the eatery and started eating all the available food.

"You know, he will suffer indigestion in the next fight," Hollow grew concerned for his comrade.

"Hmph, doesn't matter, Gluttony is a liability, we only saved him to see what Dusk will do next," Shade confessed his intentions to Hollow who was keeping an eye on the Shadow Lord.

Gluttony who was unaware of the conversation between Shade and Hollow, continued to eat the food, making his way to the storage area of the restaurant, barging through counter not even phasing him, he pulled off the door to find more food, "more food," Gluttony cheered as he jumped in to grab more food from the area.

"So what about Greed? He isn't exactly making things easy," Hollow asked his ally calmly.

"Yes I know that, his betrayal wasn't unexpected, but he could still prove to be useful, since after all he is a Shadow Lord, nothing is going to change that," Shade replied with a smirk.

"You mean his knowledge of his former comrades and the past?" Hollow asked his leader.

Shade nodded, turning away from the eating display of Gluttony, "you know, Pride, Sloth and Wrath, they still have the king of this region fooled into believing that they can bring back his wife, I would love to see his face when he finds out that can never happen," Shade started to laugh at the situation, crossing his arms he watched the clouds rolling over from the north, "there is a storm brewing," Shade whispered waiting for his ally to emerge from the building.

Gluttony walked around searching for more food to eat, "there is no food left, can we find another place?" Gluttony asked the men gleefully.

"Of course Gluttony, we have plenty of time," Shade replied smirking at his comrade, leading the Shadow Lord towards the next place to gather food.

**(Near Lake Valour)**

Pride was walking in front of the king, his plans were going as he was expecting, he looked up to see the Staravias flying overhead with the Starlys, 'now to lure the princess to the city,' Pride thought to himself as he looked back to see the king surrounded by his guards, 'this is almost too easy, I wonder how Shade and Hollow are going,' Pride clenched his fists knowing that everything was about to come together in the next fight.

"Pride, it will take us some time to get there at the current pace we are taking," the king reminded the leader of the Shadow Lords.

"What's the rush? We have plenty of time," Pride replied calmly, he waved his hand assuring the royal that everything was alright, 'are all royals this stupid?' Pride started questioning the intelligence of the leader, 'I cannot wait for this to come to an end, once I end this royal family, there will be nothing to stop me from achieving my goals,' Pride thought as he continued on slowly, he glanced towards the distance seeing parts of the forest knocked down.

'Yet this king things he is using the Shadow Lords, this entertainment has really gone on for way too long,' Pride reminded himself of the situations that led to this moment, 'how the Shadow Lords have changed throughout history, now we are heading towards our own glory,' Pride held back his laughter as he stared into the palm of his right hand.

"Pride, are you sure that everything is in place?" the king asked the man he thought was his ally.

"Yes your majesty, everything is set," Pride answered the king assuring him that the plan was in place, growing frustrated with the kings constant pestering over the issue, 'once the pieces are set, I will enact the real plan,' Pride thought to himself as he glanced over his right shoulder to see the king was looking at the entrance of Lake Valour.

"This place is amazing, soon my wife we will see this land together again," The king started to grow more confident, but the guards were looking a little unsure of the words.

The guards looked at one another wondering if the king was in the right mindset, 'something isn't right, it feels like we are being led right into a trap,'' one of the guards thought as he nodded at the other guard, 'plus why would the princess want to betray her father and her kingdom?' the guard asked himself with his hand over his chin.

"He is thinking about the same thing as I am, there is something not right,' the second guard thought to himself, he glared at Pride who was marching ahead with great confidence.

"You two seem to doubt me," Pride stated while eyeing the two guards.

The two guards gulped for a moment as they wondered how Pride could know what they are thinking, "no sir we don't," the guards replied as they hid their own fear of the man leading them to Pastoria City.

"Listen for now, Pride is in charge, we follow him," The king explained to the two guards, but they were still not happy with the situation they were in.

"Sire, why is Lady Salvia a target? She hasn't done anything wrong," the guard on the left enquired but the king ignored the guard trying to pretend that the guards said nothing, "sire…" the guard tried to persist but was stopped by his comrade.

"Not now, we need to hold our tongues," the older guard informed the much younger guard trying to keep him calm, knowing that the situation could get worse.

"We set up camp here," Pride instructed the three people he was leading.

**(2 hours later)**

The young guard walked through the forest picking up firewood, as he continued on, he heard a man talking to someone over the phone, "that's right Shade, we are already leading the king into the trap, there he will kill his own daughter," Pride informed his teammate of the situation.

Upon hearing the confession, the guard dropped the logs onto the ground catching the attention of the Shadow Lord, "no, I must warn the king," he Guard started to run, but as he continued he felt a sharp pain on the right side of his abdomen, he fell to the ground and immediately called for his Alakazam, "take me somewhere safe," the guard issued his command.

"What have we here? A royal guard whom has heard too much, too bad I cannot let you live now," Pride informed the young guard, as he was about to kill the guard the psychic type pokemon teleported the injured guard to another location. "Lucky little rat, but he is too injured to be a threat now," Pride picked up the logs he looked at the ground and covered up the puddle of blood that was in the area, using only a bit of dirt and leaves to help hide the evidence.

**(Veilstone City)**

A man with lavender hair, wearing a black jacket with a white shirt and blue jeans walked through the large city, as he continued on a strange man appeared in front of him, but he was quick to notice the res stain on his uniform, "hey you're injured, we better get you to the hospital," the man dropped his backpack and ran up to him, he helped him up and noticed the dagger in his abdomen, he looked up to the see the concerned psychic pokemon, "so he teleported from someone, he was about to be killed," the man stated with a frown.

"Hey… who a-a…..are you?" the guard asked weakly.

"I am a trainer, my name is Paul, but don't waste your strength, we need to get you to a hospital," Paul tried his best to help the guard up, he placed his arm around him and helped him slowly but surely as blood dripped down his side and onto the street, "what happened?" Paul asked sternly.

"I was attacked by a Shadow Lord, his name is Pride," the guard responded to Paul's enquirey.

"Why?" Paul asked the injured guard.

"I overheard him saying he means to assassinate the king and his daughter," the Guard explained as they moved closer to the hospital.

"Alright, where is the princess?" Paul asked the guard.

"Last we heard….she is with one of her best friends," the Guard was helped into the entrance.

"Who Dawn?" Paul asked the guard.

"No, she was killed, someone else, he is an Aura Guardian from what I remember," the guard dozed off, after telling Paul of who was about to collapse himself.

After regaining some of his composure, he looked to the front counter, "hey we have an emergency, this guy is badly injured," the trainer announced to the nurse, they quickly tended to the man, leaving a shocked man to digest what he had heard, 'I don't believe this Ash, promised I would be his best man at his and Dawn's wedding, he promised he would look after her,' Paul thought as he stepped back, not watching where he was going, "I don't believe this," Paul placed his head in his hands in shock.

A young woman walked up to the lavender haired trainer, he looked up almost in tears, "the royal guard's wound isn't fatal, but he will need to rest a few days," the Nurse informed the trainer.

Paul got up and walked out of the hospital, "why? How could this have happened? Why is the princess with Ash?" Paul asked himself as he gazed back with his eyes widened in despair.

**(Later that night)**

Dusk walked into the camp, looking around, the air remained cold, but she didn't seem to mind, 'found you,' she turned towards the tent containing Ash who was unaware of the arrival of the woman.

Salvia walked towards the tent with food in hand, she heard something from a distance and grew concerned with the feeling she was getting, as if the presence of someone familiar was ain the area, the wind picked up but she brushed it off and entered the tent to present Ash with the food, "here is your dinner Ash," Salvia handed the food to Ash, who was looking at the map of the city and thinking of the plan for the fight against Gluttony.

"You know, it didn't exactly go to plan," Ash whispered.

Salvia placed the plate of food on the map, "you know, not everything goes to plan. Sometimes things go wrong and there is nothing you can do about it, you just have to put one foot forward and not look back," Salvia informed Ash.

"I see, so I couldn't change what happened no matter what," Ash stated with a sigh, he looked at the food and smiled, "thanks," Ash replied as he grabbed the plate of food, Salvia exited the tent, not knowing that Ash was turning his attention to her, 'she has supported me since Dawn was murdered, she really is an amazing friend,' Ash thought, taking his first bite of the food.

"I hope he likes what I cooked for him," Salvia walked away from the tent, looking back with a smile on her face.

Ash continued to eat the food he was given, 'she even tended to me while I was injured and made sure I didn't do anything stupid, I would have been lost if she wasn't around,' Ash thought to himself, he finished the plate of food and stood up, he walked out of the tent and was forced to jump back falling into his tent collapsing it at the same time, "hey what was that about?" Ash asked as he struggled to free himself from the tent.

"You will answer my question," Dusk informed the Aura Guardian.

"Dusk, what are you doing here?" Ash asked after freeing himself from his tent, "I thought you were following Shade and Hollow," Ash told the bluenette.

"I have no interest in them," Dusk answered back as she stepped closer to the injured trainer, "now, I want to know, why are you so familiar to me?" Dusk asked the trainer as he started to slide back with his uninjured arm.

"I have no idea, it isn't like you were Dawn," Ash tried to plead with the young woman.

"What was that?" Dusk asked venomously.

'Man, she isn't messing around,' Ash thought to himself as he started into the cold eyes of the woman.

Ash got up and prepared to fight, but the young woman stood firmly on the spot, "you're injured, what chance do you have?" Dusk asked the Aura Guardian, she closed her eyes and smirked in the direction of the trainer, "you're also really low on your aura, it seems like you wasted it during a fight against Gluttony," Dusk informed the trainer as she opened her eyes yet again and looked at the cast on the arm of the Aura Guardian.

"Can I ask you a question?" Ash asked the Dark Aura Master.

"No," Dusk replied coldly.

Ash chuckled knowing that he was in serious trouble, "wow, never thought the look alike of my future wife was going to be the one to try and kill me," Ash joked to himself, he watched as the woman formed a ball of dark aura in her hands.

Before Dusk could attack the vulnerable trainer, Salvia appeared to stop the woman, "you, the weak princess of this region," Dusk taunted the royal.

"Why are you after Ash? What has he done to you?" Salvia asked the enemy with a concerned tone, visibly shaking from the intimidating woman in front of her.

"Why are you so concerned? It is my mission to destroy the Aura Guardian," Dusk answered the princess as she forced the dark aura to dissipate.

"Simple, because Ash is the one that I care about, my other friend wouldn't forgive me if something were to happen to him," Salvia answered the Dark Aura Master, who glared at the princess.

Dusk shook her head and turned around, "friends? You're almost as foolish as the person that I met a couple of days ago," Dusk started to insult the princess.

"What are you talking about?" Salvia asked, watching the doppelganger turn.

Greed walked up to the group after seeing the raised dust In the distance, he turned to the woman and noticed a striking resemblance to the princess and Dawn, "who are you?" Greed asked the woman.

Dusk turned to Greed who was standing in front of her, "me? You see Shadow Lord, my name is Dusk, a Dark Aura Master," the blue haired Aura Master introduced herself to Greed.

"Never heard of you," Greed replied quietly.

Dusk shrugged her shoulders and shook her head, "why am I not surprised? After all you betrayed the Shadow Lords," Dusk glared at the former member of the Shadow Lords.

"You really have no idea Dusk," Greed quickly snapped back, his fists clenched but still resisting the urge to go into a rage.

"Seems like I hit a nerve," Dusk continued to taunt the Shadow Lord. Dusk charged towards the injured Ash, a ball of purple aura surrounding her right fist, "now to end you!" Dusk yelled out as she raised her hand into the air.

"I will not let you!" Salvia shouted at the Dark Aura Master, jumping in front of Ash to make sure he didn't get hurt, Salvia looked up to see that Dusk had frozen, holding back her attack, "well, what are you going to do now?" Salvia asked the Dark Aura Master.

"Move, now!" Dusk ordered the princess.

"No, I will not move," Salvia replied, now shaking in fear from what could potentially be her last words. Dusk stepped back, and dissipated the dark aura yet again, she turned away allowing Salvia to lower her guard and to exhale in relief, knowing that Dusk had a reason to stop her attack, she looked up to Dusk who was about to leave the area, "wait," Salvia called for the Dark Aura Master, but the calls were ignored.

Ash slowly approached the Dark Aura Master, but much to his surprise she called out her Piplup, "what? She has a Piplup," Ash's eyes widened at the sight of the small pokemon. "Hey wait, why did you stop?" Ash asked the bluenette with a relieved expression

"Use Bubble to cloak our escape," Dusk ordered her pokemon, the penguin pokemon leapt into the air and performed the attack as ordered, but before the Dark Aura Master could escape Salvia jumped in and grabbed the doppelganger's arm as she made her escape, "let go of me you fool," Dusk ordered the princess, trying her best to shake the royal's grip on her arm.

"No, you still haven't answered my question," Salvia retorted in anger, refusing to let go of the more powerful woman's right arm.

The bubbles cleared up revealing that Dusk was no longer in the area, Ash looked around to find that Dusk wasn't around, he scanned the area again and discovered that the princess was no longer with them as well, "hey Greed, where is Salvia?" Ash asked.

"She is not here? Damn," Greed looked around for the bluenette.

Meanwhile in a building in Orebugh City Salvia and Dusk were sitting silently, "you idiot, what is your problem? Don't you know how much trouble you're in?" Dusk questioned the royal about her actions, she walked up to the window.

"You haven't properly answered my question, there is a reason why you want to hurt Ash, or don't you remember?" Salvia started to question the motives of her look alike.

Dusk slammed the window shut, frustrated that she was with the princess, "why are you so adamant to know what I am thinking?" Dusk questioned the princess.

"Dusk, that doesn't seem like your real name," Salvia told the Dark Aura Master, "what is your real name?" Salvia asked the woman.

"I don't know, I have no memories of my past, in fact, my only memories were that of the last four weeks," Dusk answered the princess' questions.

Salvia looked at the ground and started to feel bad for the Dark Aura Master, Salvia took a deep breath as the lights in the building started to go out, "you know Shade and Hollow are heading to Celestic Town right?" Salvia asked the foe.

"Dawn told me I was being used by those two, so I need to get answers from them, but if they don't spill the beans, I am going to torture the answers out of them, as for Ash, if he gets in my way, I will also destroy him," Dusk threatened the trainer in front of the royal much to her dismay.

"But what did Ash do to deserve this from you? He has already been through so much," Salvia tried her best to plead with the bluenette.

Dusk looked at the princess and smiled at her, the Dark Aura Master opened the door, "I can sense it, you have feelings for him," Dusk informed the princess, causing her to shake her head in denial. "He is an Aura Guardian," Dusk repeated her first answer, Salvia got up and walked up to Dusk, "what?" Dusk asked the bluenette.

"That isn't a good enough reason," Salvia walked out of the building leaving Dark Aura Master on her own, Salvia looked back with a confident expression, "if you hurt Ash, I will never forgive you," Salvia promised with a hint of malice in her voice.

"You didn't even ask me, what my goals are, oh well, I guess I will reveal them soon," Dusk reminded the princess, but she ignored her and continued to walk back to the campsite, "not that I would have told you anyway," Dusk stated as she walked out, she looked towards Mount Coronet and clenched her fists.

Meanwhile in the east side of the city Shade and Hollow where helping Gluttony with his meal, "alright this place has plenty of food, too bad for Ash, he is injured so there is no way he can fight," Shade started laughing at his foe, looking back towards the lights that illuminated the campsite, "wonder what he will do when we unleash a full Gluttony," Shade continued through the empty streets of Orebugh City.

"So what next? We both know that Dusk will be arriving to re-join us," Hollow inquired as he looked towards the streets in concern.

"Gluttony, we leave the rest to you, if you see Dusk, kill her," Shade instructed the Shadow Lord who was still eating the remaining food of the store room at one of the restaurants, "Hollow, time to get a move on," Shade rushed off with his teammate close behind him.

Dusk walked through the city and immediately sensed that her allies were heading out of the city on their own, she looked back to find that Salvia was standing behind her with a concerned expression on her face, "what do you want this time?" Dusk asked the princess with growing frustration.

"Don't you think you should have a plan, you might not make it out alive," Salvia informed the Dark Aura Master.

"Alive? Oh no I will make it out alive, Shade and Hollow will suffer," Dusk replied as she walked away from the princess again, "now go back to the stupid camp, tell Ash, that when he is fully recovered, I will be aiming to destroy him," Dusk ran off leaving the princess with a concerned sigh.

**(Back at the camp)**

Ash continued his search with the help of Hilda and Hilbert, he looked around only to find the princess was well, walking back into the camp, "Salvia, thank goodness you're alright," Ash breathed a sigh of relief, but looked over to his friends, "what happened?" Ash asked the young royal, but she looked at the ground, she shook her head wondering what Dusk was thinking, "did she do anything to hurt you?" Ash's concerns started to surface even more.

"No Ash, she allowed me to escape," Salvia answered Ash, she looked up and then turned her attention to her other friends, "she told me to give you this message, recover and fast, so she can be the one to destroy you," Salvia informed Ash of the intentions of Dusk.

Ash scratched the back of his head and chuckled for a moment, "wow, she isn't a nice person, but I can sense that she has a part to play in this situation," Ash whispered as he walked back to his tent leaving Salvia concerned for his well-being.

"What's the matter princess?" Greed asked the bluenette.

"I am concerned about him, he might be opening up a little more, but he has to save my father, prevent Shade and Hollow from getting what they want and then there is Dusk who wants to kill him," Salvia pointed out her concerns for the trainer, watching him entering his tent, "he got hurt because and I feel like I am at fault for that," Salvia told the Shadow Lord.

"I don't think Ash blames you for getting hurt, he was ambushed when we were about to land the winning blow on Gluttony, as for Dusk, I don't think she is as big of a threat as we think she is," Greed stated, keeping his eye on the Dark Aura Master, "our biggest threats are the Shadow Lords, Shade and Hollow," Greed stated the true threats to the Pokemon World.

* * *

**Gluttony is now ordered to kill the Dark Aura Master, Dusk. What will this mean for Ash and his friends in the fight against the Shadow Lords as well as the Dark Aura Master?**

**Next time: Chapter 14: Greed Vs Gluttony 3: Overshadow.**


	14. Greed VS Gluttony 3: Overshadow

**Chapter 14: Greed VS Gluttony: Overshadow.**

_**Summary: **__forced to face Gluttony one last time, Greed gets an unexpected help when things start to go badly for him._

* * *

"Now Ash, there is no way you can finish this fight against Gluttony, not in your condition," Greed walked towards the exit of the tent, with Ash watching his friend getting ready to take on the fight against the Shadow Lord, "you are still drained of Aura from your last fight and your injuries still haven't fully recovered," Greed informed the trainer with a frown.

"What should I do?" Ash questioned the Shadow Lord, holding the cast on his right arm.

"There are two options, you either head to Pastoria City, or you head to Celestic Town, whatever you do, it also means your time span for saving the king is limited," Greed explained the problem ot Ash, he looked over to Salvia packing her bag ready to leave the tent city.

"Whatever you decide Ash, I will go with you," Salvia promised the trainer, but the Aura Guardian remained quiet, still unsure as to how to best deal with the situation he was in.

"Ash, you need to decide now," Hilbert enforced the issue on to Ash.

"What about you two?" Ash asked the king and queen of Unova.

"That is up to you Ash, we also need to make sure that Pride doesn't get his way with the world," Hilda answered the trainer's question, 'how can I tell them? It doesn't matter what happens someone will lose their life,' Hilda looked at the ground with a saddened expression, she looked over to Salvia who approached Ash.

"Alright, I need answers, so I will be heading to Celestic Town for a quick visit, then I will be off to save the king," Ash declared his plan to knowing that it would also allow him some time to recover his aura reserves and the chance to use it to recover fully from his injuries.

"Good, that means you two will need to keep an eye out for Pride, while you Salvia, please keep Ash safe, Dusk is still out there, she has a part to play before this is over," Greed stated while walking out of the tent, he noticed Melissa walking up to him, "you stay here and make sure the people are alright," Greed instructed the nurse.

"I will Greed, but please don't do anything that would make me worry," the pink haired nurse pleaded with Greed, but the shadow Lord left the woman on her own walking towards the fight.

"You know I was always the weakest Shadow Lord and yet I was the one that caused the most trouble" Greed laughed at his tendencies, leaving a perplexed nurse to tilt her head, wondering what he was going on about, "but now it is time to show the Shadow Lords exactly what I am capable of," Greed looked back with a cheeky smile on his face, "I will return soon," Greed promised the young nurse.

Salvia walked up to Melissa who was watching the Shadow Lord leave for the fight, "you just need to wait for him, he isn't going to die that easily," Salvia assured the Kanto Princess.

"I hope you're right Salvia," Melissa replied nervously.

Ash walked out of the tent, ready to leave for the next destination, "come on Princess, time to get a move on," Ash said quietly, 'I can sense the danger,' Ash thought as he started to realise his inability to join the final fight against Gluttony.

"I know what you are thinking Ash, you want to fight as well," Salvia walked next to Ash and headed to the northern boarders of the city, the two walked ahead without their other friends, Salvia looked back and waved at her friends.

"You know something, I feel like we aren't getting anywhere, the enemy is always one step ahead of us," Ash commented his concerns to the princess, he grabbed his only pokeball and stared at it for a moment, "what should I do? You might see me as being brave, yet in reality I am scared," Ash confessed his fear to the young royal.

"Of what Ash?" Salvia asked the trainer calmly.

Ash looked towards the city and thought about the meeting with the new friends, "of losing my friends, my pokemon, in fact losing everything," Ash confessed his fear to the princess.

"That will not happen again," Salvia snapped at the trainer, gritting her teeth in anger.

Ash looked at his pokeball and smiled, "I hope you're right," Ash returned the gesture softly. The raven haired trainer started walking towards the mountains with one last look at the city, 'Greed, Melissa, Hilda and Hilbert, please be alright,' Ash prayed for the well-being of the new friends he had made in the previous two weeks, leaving the city to the protection of Greed.

Meanwhile back in Oreburgh City Greed started his search for Gluttony and noticed the trail of eaten food and wrappers on the ground, "doesn't seem I have to look to far, I will find him sooner than expected," Greed scanned the streets while following the trail of litter, "really Gluttony, you have no sense of cleanliness," Greed complained about his former allies bad traits.

"Oh this food is really good," Gluttony complimented the food he was gorging down on the food inside a shop.

"Found you," Greed whispered to himself, but before he could make his move Gluttony rushed at him, catching him off guard, sending the former Shadow Lord flying towards the street, "okay, so he has eaten a lot of food," Greed remarked with a hint of sarcasm, he landed in a grassy patch and prepared his counter attack.

"This is where you will die Greed!" Gluttony yelled out his threat, running at the former ally.

"I think not, you will get indigestion before that happens," Greed promised his enemy in a joking manner, he evaded the next attack, but was soon sent flying towards the mines of the city, Greed ran towards his foe and unleashed a volley of punches, but Gluttony just absorbed the attack leaving Greed to figure out what to do next, "great, he isn't even flinching," the former Shadow Lord hissed out his annoyance at the prowess of his foe.

"Is that all you have Greed?" Gluttony taunted the past comrade, smirking at him, he ran towards Greed and used another lariat.

Greed was leapt back to avoid the attack, but Gluttony looked up grinning at him and pulling back his right arm, to prepare for the punch, "the opening I need," Greed whispered, he tackled the Shadow Lord avoiding the attack, but as he was preparing for a counter attack, Gluttony smashed both his fists into the back of Greed forcing him to fall into the ground, crashing into the ground, a small amount of blood fell out of the mouth of Greed as he cried out in pain.

"You were always the weak link in the Shadow Lords," Gluttony teased his former ally, kicking the old ally, he watched as Greed was sent flying towards the cave entrance.

Greed slowly got back to his feet, grasping his right side, panting from the brutal assault that was being dished out, "he forced Ash to use all his aura and here I am facing him alone," Greed looked out of the cave to see Gluttony approaching him, "he is relentless, there has to be some way to defeat him," Greed cleaned up some of the blood.

**(Hearthome City)**

Ash and Salvia walked into the city, Ash looked at his injured arm and let out a sigh, "I feel bad that I cannot help Greed," Ash professed his frustration.

"I know, but you cannot do anything, you would just get in the way," Salvia pointed out while looking at the Aura Guardian's injury, she looked around to see people from Oreburgh City walking around the much larger city, "you know, with everything that is going on, I need to become stronger for the people of this region," Salvia stated as she started to remember what was being told of her while she was looking after Ash, 'Hilda, you and Hilbert have been through a lot, yet you expect me to be myself,' Salvia thought to herself, feeling ashamed that was what she needed to do.

"Hey are you alright?" Ash asked the princess, but the princess ignored his question.

**(Flashback)**

Hilda and Salvia walked through the tent city, watching the people who were helping one another out, "you know the Sinnoh region and her people are amazing," Hilda informed the younger royal.

"Yeah," Salvia replied quietly, she thought back to the time where she helped the child, "have you ever felt like you were getting in the way?" Salvia asked the Unova queen.

"Why do you ask? I am one of the strongest trainers in Unova," Hilda informed her status in her home region.

"Really, not only beautiful but also a great trainer," Salvia looked back towards Ash who was staring at his pokeball, 'he has been staring at his pokeball for a day now,' Salvia noticed the saddened expression on his face.

"You know, compliments will get you nowhere," Hilda teased the princess.

Salvia looked at the ground and frowned at her own weakness, "yet for a princess, who is supposed to be a successor to the throne of Sinnoh, I am really a weak person," Salvia acknowledged her own problems to the brunette.

"So are you going to sit back and watch Ash face all the troubles?" Hilda asked her friend, "you are strong, but you need to figure out where your strengths rest," Hilda assured her friend as she ran off to find Hilbert who was helping the other people of the city out.

"I am just too kind and gentle," Salvia replied to Hilda who looked back and nodded at her friend.

"Nothing wrong with that at all, you cannot be expected to have a fiery temper like me, or as vicious as Dusk, you need to be yourself, that is what the people of this region are expecting you to be," Hilda wisely told the princess with a proud tone, she walked off leaving the bluenette to ponder about her way of doing things.

Sighing for a moment Salvia looked towards the sunset over the caves from the west, "I have made many resolves in the past, but each time I am falling short of my goals, but now I need to find my own way instead of copying others," Salvia whispered to herself, 'so far everyone has been teaching me something, it's decided, from this day forward, I am taking my own path, not following what everyone expects of me, I will become the queen of this region the way I feel I need to,' Salvia decided her own course to take in her future.

**(Return from Flashback)**

"Ash, there is something I want to ask you," Salvia told Ash grabbing his right arm.

Ash looked back with a puzzled expression, "what?" Ash asked curiously.

Salvia let go of the Aura Guardian's arm and gulped, "I want you to help me with something important," Salvia answered Ash's curiosity.

"Tell me at the Pokemon Centre," Ash walked off towards the large building with the red roof, followed closely by the princess, Ash glanced towards the mountain and took a deep breath, 'if I wasn't injured I would be able to take on Gluttony, but then there is also Dusk, there is something odd about her,' Ash thought as he remembered his meeting with the Dark Aura Master.

Ash walked through the tree lined avenue towards the imposing Pokemon Centre, while Salvia stared at the beautiful city, seeing the tall buildings that dominated the skyline, 'this city is amazing, too bad we are only here for a short time," Salvia whispered, watching the sun setting in the distance.

After entering into the medical facility Ash looked out to see the princess preventing her hair from blowing into her face, 'Just what does she want to say?' Ash asked himself, sititng down having at glance at his pokeball.

Salvia quickly looked in the direction of Ash and noticed him looking at his pokeball, "I hope I can ask him," Salvia reminded herself, still feeling nervous about what she has decided to go for.

Salvia entered the Pokemon Centre, the place was busy, approaching Ash slowly a thousand thoughts rushed through her mind and taking into consideration of what Hilda told her, "hey come sit down, have something to eat," Ash called to the young royal.

"Ash, I need you to help me search for a goal," Salvia informed Ash, she sat down and grabbed a plate of food with Ash handing her the cutlery, "after the fight is over, I want to learn about being a trainer, I also need to see what path I can take, but I want the path to be uniquely mine," Salvia explained her intentions to Ash.

"Why are you asking me?" Ash asked the princess cautiously.

"Because, I need your advice," Salvia admitted to the trainer much to his surprise, "I might be a royal and I should know this sort of stuff, but in reality…" Salvia stopped and started to laugh at her own problems, she looked up and tilted her head, "I am still a novice when it comes to pokemon and being a leader, well if I am going to be queen of this region I need to learn my own style," Salvia informed Ash of her situation.

"I don't know how I can help you," Ash confessed his part in the story.

"That's fine, you just need to be yourself, I will learn from you," Salvia argued her point to Ash, she started eating her food while Ash looked away in shock at the resolve of the princess.

Ash started laughing at himself, he looked back with a gentle smile directed at the young royal, "thanks princess, you really are strong, you ask me for advice and you aren't scared to do so, but for me, it seems like I have a lot to learn from you," Ash explained his inner turmoil to the young royal, he thought back to how Greed was fighting Gluttony and how he had failed to defeat him. Ash kept an eye on the people inside the busy Pokemon Centre, watching the people eating their meals and cleaning up their prized pokemon.

Salvia finished her first mouthful of food and focused on Ash, "when I find my own unique path, I would love it if you were to follow me on that path," Salvia requested the trainer to help her out, "you know, show me the world," Salvia picked up another fork full of food.

"Alright I promise, I will show you the world, maybe I can help you find that goal you want to seek," Ash expressed his interest in helping the bluenette.

Ash turned away not noticing the redness creep across the face of the princess, she looked up with her mouth agape and in shock at the promise of Ash, she moved her right hand over her heart and continued to keep her blue eyes glued on Ash, 'no, it cannot be…..there is no way, it has only been three weeks since I met him again,' Salvia thought not daring to say her thoughts out loud.

Ash looked back to see the princess who remained quiet, "you alright?" Ash questioned the Sinnoh Royal with a clueless expression.

Salvia got up and placed the knife and fork on the table, "yeah I am fine," Salvia ran off leaving Ash to watch the princess leaving him alone.

Left scratching his head, was puzzled by her sudden change in personality, "odd, she hasn't acted like that before," Ash reminded himself as he walked around the medical facility, he eventually made it to the exit, looking back to find that the number of people had dwindled as it started to become late and the moon hanging over the horizon, "Greed, I hope you're winning the fight," Ash whispered as he looked out the window.

Meanwhile Salvia was in her room, her arms around her legs, she was thinking about what was going on, "here I am finding a way to save me kingdom and now I find myself falling in love with Ash," Salvia placed her head on her knees and started hitting it as if to tell herself what was she thinking, "how did this happen?" Salvia asked herself over and over again.

**(Oreburgh City)**

Greed jumped back not wanting to take another hit from Gluttony, "hey what about giving me a chance to fight back?" Greed started to question the Shadow Lord.

"No way," Gluttony replied with a smirk, he continued the attack making sure that Greed was jumping back, it was until Greed had his back to the wall.

Greed ran his hands on the wall of the cave, "oh no, I am trapped," Greed started to panic as he watched Gluttony rushing towards him, he closed his eyes knowing that it was all over, "sorry Melissa," Greed apologised, but was completely unaware of what was about to happen.

"Open your eyes you moron," a female voice sounded.

Greed opened his eyes to see Dusk had attacked Gluttony from behind, "I thought you were heading to Celestic Town," Greed to the Dark Aura Master.

"Can it, I am here to destroy Gluttony, you stay where you are," Dusk ordered the Shadow Lord, she formed two balls of aura in her hands one coloured black while the other was blue.

Greed noticed the two different coloured balls of aura and got up, grasping at his right side, "what's going on, I thought she could only use dark aura, but here she is using both dark and standard light aura," Greed whispered to himself as he watched the young woman pummelling the Shadow Lord with both forms of aura.

"I thought you were one of the strongest, get up!" Dusk demanded of the foe, as the foe got up slowly she rushed at him again this time giving the Shadow Lord a powerful set of kicks, "is that you've got?!" Dusk continued her decimation of the Shadow Lord.

Greed watched in awe of the Dark Aura Master easily destroying his former ally, "this is nuts, Ash and I were struggling, yet Dusk is destroying Gluttony with ease," Greed watched as fear started to creep across his face.

Dusk combined the aura in her hands and pushed it into the stomach of the foe causing the Shadow Lords to stagger back as blood fell from his mouth, "nothing to say? Well that doesn't matter, you are the one that will send a message to the rest of the Shadow Lords, now it time for me to rip you to pieces," Dusk informed the Shadow Lord, she rushed at him and kicked his right arm instantly breaking it, the Shadow Lord screamed loudly holding his right arm, "I am not done yet," Dusk kicked his other arm breaking it as well.

"She's serious, she intends to maim even the Shadow Lords, the scary thing is, she is making it look easy as well," Greed gulped in fear as he watched the bluenette walking up to the former ally, seeing him walking back with his arms broken.

"So Gluttony, what should I break next?" Dusk asked the frightened Shadow Lord, "I know, how about preventing you from getting away," Dusk suggested as she ran towards the Shadow Lord, deliberately missing his legs, "opps I missed," Dusk looked up, seeing the Shadow Lord visibly trembling in fear.

"No, stay away from me," Gluttony started to shuffle back, seeing the darkness in the bluenette's eyes.

"Oh come on, you started this fight, all I want to do is end it," Dusk shrugged her shoulders and shook her head.

"Hey he is no longer a threat, you already broke his arms," Greed tried to reason with Dusk, but was ignored, he watched in fear as Dusk mercilessly rushed towards the Shadow Lord, with two balls of aura aimed at the Shadow Lord's head, the balls of aura exploded enveloping Gluttony in a bright light that illuminated the cave.

"That was way too easy," Dusk landed as she looked back knowing that Gluttony was taken by the fatal blast.

"She had no qualms about killing Gluttony," Greed whispered as he watched the princess look alike started to leave the battle. Approaching the young woman Greed started to hesitate, "hey, how did you know I need help?" Greed asked the Dark Aura Master.

"Me help you? Don't kid yourself, I only destroyed Gluttony because I was bored," Dusk answered the Shadow Lord much to his dismay.

Greed noticed the blue and black aura dissipating from the Dark Aura Master, "also, how can you use blue aura and black aura, that isn't possible," Greed decreed as he watched the woman ignore him.

"I am only letting you live because you are at least honourable, not like the other bastards in the Shadow Lords," Dusk coldly stated her allegiances to Greed.

Greed watched the blue haired woman leaving the scene of the battle, "I was going to ask you to help rebuild the city, but there is no chance of that right?" Greed asked the Dark Aura Master.

"I'm in it for myself, so no I will not help," Dusk walked off towards the next city leaving Greed shaking not only in fear but anger at the same time.

Greed started walking through the streets, taking a deep breath and starting to realise that Dusk wasn't going to be easy to win over as an ally, "she is strong, perhaps too strong, I cannot convince her to join our cause," Greed thinking about the frightening eyes of Dusk.

"Greed!" Melissa cried out to him, seeing his injuries from the fight, "you got hurt," Melissa crossed her arms she looked back to see the litter all over the city, "did you win?" Melissa asked the Shadow Lord.

Greed looked at the ground with disdain, "yeah Gluttony is dead, but I wasn't the one who killed him," Greed started to flashback on the cold killing of Gluttony, 'why did she kill him in cold blood?' Greed started to question himself about the actions of Dusk.

"Are you alright?" Melissa asked the man with a concerned smile on her face.

"Yeah I am fine, I will be staying to rebuild this city, then I need to see Ash afterwards," Greed stated his intentions to the Kanto royal.

"Oh so you are going to go and fight again?" Melissa asked the Shadow Lord.

Greed nodded and started to laugh at himself, "yes I am, I want to save this region as well as the world, much like Ash and the princess," Greed informed the pink haired nurse with a sense of pride.

"Okay, just make it out alive alright," Melissa pleaded with the Shadow Lord, placing her right hand over his cheek and smiling at him, "I don't know what I would do without you," Melissa told Greed in a sweet manner.

"Stop it, you are making me softer than I already am," Greed started laughing at himself, looking away and showing his own redness on his face.

**(Hearthome City)**

Ash woke up from his sleep sweating heavily, as if he was sensing that something was wrong, Ash jumped out of his bed and ran towards the main foyer, his loud footsteps even waking up the princess who also exited her room, "Ash?" Salvia asked the man who was too busy running towards the now quiet and almost empty main foyer.

"I can sense it, her aura mine as well, what's going on?" Ash asked himself, his uninjured arm was still shaking as he looked out the window, seeing the night sky with a tint of redness on the horizon, "what happened in Oreburgh City?" he started to question the situation.

"It is almost four o'clock in the morning Ash, you need to rest up," Salvia informed Ash.

Ash looked back and frowned, "Salvia, prepare you bags, get changed we are leaving now," Ash instructed the royal.

"But Ash…" Salvia tried to argue with the trainer.

"No buts! Pack your stuff we are leaving!" Ash yelled at the royal angrily, almost as if he was in a panicked mood. He started running back to his room, changing back to his normal attire and picking up his bag, he started running back to the main foyer waiting for the princess.

Salvia emerged from the hall, immediately getting ready to leave the Pokemon Centre and the city, "why are we leaving Ash? Tell me!" Salvia demanded angrily.

"Dusk is on her way here," Ash stated as he exited the Pokemon Centre.

"She might not admit it, but she is a kind hearted person, but her methods are wrong," Salvia whispered, but was left with little to no choice but to follow Ash and make their way to get the answers they needed at Celestic Town.

Before the sun began to rise, Salvia and Ash left the now quiet city heading towards Solaceon Town, not daring to complete their night's sleep in case Dusk decided to show up, "I don't want the people to be in any danger," Ash confessed his concerns to the princess who tiredly followed him.

Meanwhile nearing Hearthome City Dusk looked towards the distance, "they don't interest me at the moment, I am going to head south, and take out Wrath on my own," Dusk decreed taking the southern road towards the trap that she knew was set for the princess.

Ash turned and noticed that Dusk was heading towards the trap, "what no way, she is heading to Pastoria City," Ash turned around and ran back to Hearthome City not even thinking about Shade and Hollow.

"Why is that so bad?" Salvia asked the Aura Guardian.

"Don't you remember, she looks like you, we have to rush to Pastoria now and save your father," Ash informed the royal following him without hesitation.

"Damn you Dusk, you are ruining everything," Shade growled at the former ally, he punched the ground next to him in anger, "Hollow, we are Pastoria City right now," Shade barked out his instructions to Hollow as they jumped from the building's roof and running towards the next destination.

Ash started to notice the dark aura coming from his second enemies, "oh no those two, they are following Dusk, we better hurry," Ash started running with Salvia following him back into the city, not hesitating to place his left hand over his injured arm, "no time to wait for the rest of my aura to recover," Ash whispered as he started to heal himself from his previous battle all the while running removing the cast and bandages, he clenched his right fist and continued to run back to the city, "even with twenty five percent of my aura, I will still fight," Ash decreed with determination to face the enemies in front of him.

* * *

**With the next collision set in stone Ash and Salvia make their way with a change of plans, they now must find a way to rescue the king while trying to find a way to convince Dusk that she needs to join their cause, the deadliest battles await Ash and Salvia in Pastoria City.**

**Next time Chapter 15: the Twilight of Change**


	15. The Twilight of Change

**Chapter 15: The Twilight of Change.**

_**Summary: **__the stage is about to be set Ash and Salvia head to rescue the king, but will soon come face to face with Shade and Hollow, a new revelation will shake the Aura Guardian to the core._

* * *

Ash and Salvia made it to the southern exit of Hearthome City, they looked over towards the sun rising over to the east, as the sky started to illuminate as it started to change colour, "Ash, what are we going to do?" Salvia asked curiously, but the trainer stared into the distance, with the princess looking out to the left seeing Ash punching the air in front of his with his now uninjured arm, 'you said your aura is up to twenty five percent, but the other three." Salvia's concern for Ash started to become more apparent.

"Yes I know, but I cannot let them destroy Dusk, she is important and she doesn't even know it yet," Ash answered the concerns of the young royal.

Salvia walked ahead of the trainer, she looked back to see him pondering his next move, "we don't have much time, we were forced to change the plans," Salvia whispered, thinking about her next meeting with her father, "what will I say, how will he act this time around?' Salvia asked herself as she pulled out a picture of her family.

Ash silently approached the princess and looked at the photo, "wow, you seem really happy," Ash pointed out as he stared at the picture of her family.

"This is my mother, she was killed last year, it was when my father changed," Salvia told the Aura Guardian, she stared at the photo and smiled, "while you have been beating yourself up, I have been trying to find my own way to save dad," Salvia confessed her intentions to Ash, "I was even thinking of having you help me out," Salvia admitted her goal to Ash.

"So you intended to ask me anyway?" Ash enquired, the princess nodded in reply leaving him perplexed and upset at the same time, "why didn't you tell me?" Ash asked the bluenette trying to hold his frustrations back.

"Because you were too busy talking about revenge," Salvia retorted pushing the trainer into a corner with his own problems, "I wanted to tell you, but I was scared of how you were going to react," Salvia explained to Ash, not replying Ash walked ahead unsure as to what to say to the Sinnoh Royal.

Ash looked up and noticed that the sun had fully risen, "come on, we need to have a break, breakfast would be a great idea," Ash suggested refusing to look back at the princess, dropping his backpack, his pokeball dropped and rolled to the bluenette.

Salvia picked up the pokeball and stared at it for a moment, "why are you carrying this around?" the princess asked the trainer.

Ash looked back and walked up to the young royal, he snatched at the pokeball, but the princess stepped back slightly to prevent him from taking the red and white device, "give me back Lucario's pokeball," Ash demanded the return of his pokemon.

"Hold on, I thought you didn't have a Lucario, what changed?" Salvia questioned the trainer.

"So what, you have been hiding something from me as well, so you're equally at fault as well," Ash retorted forcing the Sinnoh native to hand back the pokeball, "but if you want to know, I caught Lucario before I proposed to Dawn, I was in the Unova region revisiting some of my friends there," Ash gave Salvia the reasoning behind his pokemon.

"So you have visited many regions before," Salvia walked passed the trainer looking around to see the numerous pokemon walking through the grassy fields and the many flying type pokemon flying through the air, "I want you to help me discover my pathway, of course it will not stop me from my royal duties, I am confident that you are the one to assist me," Salvia confessed her goal to Ash, she walked up to the table and placed her bag on the ground next to the table.

"Why would you want me to help you out?" Ash asked the royal, stared at the pokeball and thought about his revious journeys, "everything I went through in the last three years of my journey was because Dawn had inspired me, I felt the need to return that," Ash explained the intentions as he pulled out the ring from his pocket.

"You did that, she always admitted being at her happiest level when she was around with you," Assuring Ash about how happy the doppelganger was, she picked her plate and grabbed a knife to spread the jam on the scones, Salvia watched the trainer sitting down, putting his pokeball in his pocket, "you know, I have been hiding the fact that I have a pokemon as well, so how about we make a deal?" Salvia suggested to the now quiet man.

Ash grabbed one of the scones and pushed it into his mouth, not hesitating to grab another, chewing on the scone he looked over to the royal whom had a look of disdain. Ash swallowed the remains of the scone and looked at the next bit of food in his hands, "tell me, what do you have in mind?" Ash asked the princess calmly.

Salvia smiled and gently cut another baked good in half, "no more secrets between us, we are friends after all," Salvia stated happily, but soon felt a little saddened by even her using the term of friend towards Ash, she looked away from Ash not daring to make eye contact with him.

"Sure thing, so you tell me what pokemon you got," Ash agreed with Salvia's idea.

"It was Dawn who helped me capture the pokemon, she said she owed it to me," Salvia admitted to the trainer proudly, her fond thoughts remained with the lost friend, "she helped me capture a Ralts, to which I evolved it all the way to Gardevoir," Salvia called out a green humanoid pokemon with a white dress like feature. Salvia looked up to her pokemon and gave her some pokemon food, "I have been trying to think about what I wanted to do, participating in contests were amazing, but I wonder what kind of thrill I would get if I battled gym leaders," Salvia let her thoughts out, showing Ash her curiosity about the challenges of the Pokemon world.

"So you want to discover what the world has to offer you," Ash looked away thinking about his own actions in recent times, "why are you so determined to figure out what you want to do?" Ash asked the princess calmly.

"All of my friends have done something to better themselves, yet for me, I am stuck inside palace walls, living in fear of what I am missing out on," Salvia explained to Ash, confessing her fears. Salvia looked at the fields as a group of pokemon looked up to the group hoping for food, "they look so cute," Salvia cheered as she got out of her seat, she approached the group of pokemon, mostly brown, buck toothed pokemon with an immense amount of fur and puffy cheeks, as the princess got closer the pokemon backed away from her.

"Might I suggest befriending them with pokemon food?" Ash suggested the idea, he picked up his backpack and pulled out a container of pokemon food, he leapt out of his seat and walked up to the princess, opening the container he pulled out some of the food, he extended his right hand out to allow for the pokemon to grab the food, "hey I will not hurt you, this food is good," Ash promised the group of pokemon.

Salvia watched Ash assuring the pokemon, her mouth now agape from awe at how gentle Ash was being towards the pokemon, 'he is at ease now,' Salvia thought as she watch a Bidoof grab a small amount of pokemon food, "wow, Bidoof the food!" Salvia's excitement started to grow.

"Hold out your hands," Ash instructed the royal, the princess cupped her hands together and watched Ash tip some of the pokemon food into her hands, the pokemon in the background watched the trainer tilting the tin back up, "pokemon can judge our personalities really well," Ash stated as he looked over to the pokemon.

Salvia moved her hands towards the brown pokemon, nervous at how they were going to react, she started shaking as the trainer pushed her hand gently towards the wild pokemon, "don't be nervous, these pokemon are friendly," Ash assured the princess.

The young royal watched as the Bidoof approached cautiously, the bluenette watched nervously as, keeping her gaze fixated on the group of pokemon, 'I have never done this before,' Salvia thought to herself, watching one of the pokemon carefully took one of the pieces of food from the young woman's hand.

Ash removed his hand and allowed Salvia to feed the pokemon on her own, smiling at her he went back to the table and eating a bowl of cereal, "so, I take it this is the first time you have hand feed wild pokemon," Ash called to the princess who was enjoying her time feeding the pokemon, 'I take her silence as a yes,' Ash thought to himself as he started crunching on the cereal he had scooped up and placed in his mouth.

"Can I please have some more?" Salvia asked the Aura Guardian, looking back in hope that Ash would provide more pokemon.

Before Ash got to his feet the wile pokemon ran away, Ash looked over to the shrubs in the background spotting two people emerging from them, "Shade and Hollow, I knew you would arrive," Ash hissed at the Dark Aura Masters.

"So you knew, you have some of your depleted aura back," Shade glanced over to the less than pleased princess, "so sorry for scaring those pokemon away, but I thought it would be nice to pay a little visit," Shade informed the two people as he approached the table. The Dark Aura Masters watched the trainer stand between them and the bluenette, "what are you worried about, we are only here to have a little chat," Shade eased the tensions between him and Ash, but with no success.

"Tell me, why are you using Dusk?" Ash growled at his enemies.

Shade burst out into laughter as he grabbed one of the scones from the table, "so you know, well there is no point hiding it," Shade bit down on the morsel of food.

"Hiding it, you mean to tell me there is something else?" Ash clenched his fists in anger.

"Calm down, you aren't even in the right shape to fight us now," Hollow informed the Aura Guardian, he picked up a bowl of cereal.

"Hey that's our food," Salvia told the Dark Aura Masters.

"Don't care, you were more than happy to feed the wild pokemon, so you can feed a few friendly visitors," Shade replied with a cheeky smirk. Eating a few scones Shade glanced up to the trainer and smirked, "so you want to know why Dusk also doesn't know the truth, simple there is a third one of us, her name is Willow, at the moment she is waiting for us at Celestic Town," Shade explained to Ash who was trembling in anger at the treatment of Dusk.

"There is something else, she was also a scapegoat of our plan, we had her chase after Dawn's aura and would have used her to die at the same time as you," Hollow explained the plan to Ash as he stepped back in horror at the plan, "that's right she was going to be sacrificed in order to fulfil our true intentions," Hollow grabbed a slice of bread and spread some jam on it.

"True intentions?" the clueless Ash enquired in a frustrated tone.

"Yeah, to bend time and space, we needed her to die, because she is special, not like you and me," Shade pointed to himself and Ash.

"Palkia and Dialga, why are you after those two? And what makes Dusk such an important piece of the puzzle?" Salvia asked the Dark Aura Masters, trying to figure out what was happening.

Shade turned his vision to Ash and smirked at him, "you know don't you?" Shade asked the Aura Guardian.

Ash looked at the ground, "yeah, she is capable of using both dark and Standard aura," Ash retorted solemnly, "you were planning on using her as a human shield in order to absorb her aura," Ash said in a calmer tone.

"Very good, but that isn't all," Shade continued to taunt the trainer. Shade looked up to the sky and raised his right hand into the air, "you see we aren't as strong as the Shadow Lords, but when their spirits are released, we intend to have them thrown into the universe where they will never come back, then we will follow the plans of Team Galactic, to create a new world, opposite of this one," Shade started to explain his plan to Ash who was clenching his fists, "why you ask? Well let's say we want to lure out our greatest prize Giratina," Shade confessed his true goal to Ash and Salvia.

Shuddering in rage Ash stepped forward and hit the table causing some of the food to jump into the air, "so you are after Giratina," Ash hissed as he approached the Dark Aura Masters, before he could act Salvia pulled Ash back and shook her head, "Salvia?" Ash started to question the actions of the princess.

Salvia glanced to her right and then returned to Ash, "we cannot over react, we can't be certain if what he said about Dusk is true and that his intentions are what he says they are, and as for the other Dark Aura Master we haven't met yet, we cannot be certain if what he says is the truth," Salvia explained the situation, reasoning with Ashm but Ash looked away with disdain trying to gather his thoughts.

"Your girlfriend is right, you cannot over react, our game have just begun," Shade teased the trainer as he stood up and looked towards the next major city, he walked up to Ash and placed his hand on his right shoulder, "it would hurt us to no end if something were to happen to you, especially in the shape you're in, little to no aura and still with an injured arm," a hint of sarcasm emerged from the lips of Shade.

Ash watched Shade walking off to Pastoria City, "so this is all a game to you? You will lose this game," Ash growled at his enemy.

"Oh come when you play a game at least have some fun, otherwise how will I have some sense of satisfaction in your demise," Shade started to leave the area with Ash watching from a distance. Before walking further away, he looked over to Ash and smirked, "how about this? I will give you a hint, head to Celestic Town first, the first part of the game is there," Shade informed the Aura Guardian leaving the two perplexed people to watch in confusion.

Salvia took notice of the anger of the Aura Guardian who was trying his best to figure out the ploy of Shade, "this is a game to them, don't those idiots realise that they are causing more trouble than the Shadow Lords?" Ash sat down wondering what his next plan of action was going to be, "I thought it would be easy, saving your father, saving your kingdom, now…." Ash started to question his resolve even more as he looked towards the group of pokemon who were hoping for more food.

"Ash, you cannot hesitate now, you have learned what is at stake, if you give up because others think it is a game, then you might as well go home," Salvia reminded Ash as he stared at his hands his injured hand shaking from the injury he had suffered.

"I don't have a home to go to," Ash snapped back much to the royal's surprise, seeing his determined expression, his left hand glowing blue, "I will save everything, no more games!" Ash yelled at the decreed as his hands clenched into fists.

'I hope he doesn't put pressure on himself,' Salvia walked to the seat opposite Ash, she looked down at the adorable pokemon and smiled at them, "you know, life is really a precious gift, you cannot throw it away because others keep stacking the odds against you," Salvia tilted her head and grinned at the young man, "okay, bad things have happened, but that's life, nothing can go the way you want to go," Salvia continued to explain to the raven haired trainer, she looked up to the sky to see the puffy cloud passing over head and the trees swaying in the breeze.

Ash felt the breeze pressing against his face, listening to the pokemon calling out in the wild and Salvia telling him that everything will be fine. "You keep telling me all this, but tell me how can you stay so certain?" asking the princess, trying to get an answer, not even noticing Salvia crying for a moment, "why aren't you answering?" Ash questioned the royal.

Salvia wiped away the tears and glanced over to Ash, "because I don't have the answers Ash, I want to know them, I keep telling myself to take my own path, but I have no idea what road to take, there are so many options laid out before me," Salvia told Ash her answer.

"Alright, I promise to help you whenever I can," he promised the royal, looking down at his backpack and grabbing the tin of pokemon food.

Salvia for a moment looked over to Ash, her face reddening yet again, she started to shake it off, but it was so obvious the pokemon around her, she bit down on her bottom lip trying to gather the courage to tell Ash something important, "um….Ash, can I feed the pokemon?" Salvia asked the trainer.

"Yeah of course," Ash replied pulling out the tin of food.

Salvia looked away angry at herself for the question she had asked, 'I am so stupid, can I feed the pokemon?' the princess started to beat herself up after asking Ash, 'I guess my confidence isn't high enough,' Salvia admitted to herself, she watched Ash walking up to her and noticing that his right hand was shaking.

"Hold out your hands again," Ash whispered, the bluenette held out her hands and cupped them, Ash poured another small portion of pokemon food into her hands, "you know apart from everyone I have befriended so far, you are my best friend at the moment," Ash confessed softly, not even taking notice of Salvia whose blush was growing .

"So, what are your intentions after all this is over?" the princess gave Ash her question.

Ash dropped the tin in shock and turned away, "I don't know, fulfilling a promise," Ash stated his goals, but was at a loss for his own goals.

Ash's pokeball dropped out of his pocket again, Salvia picked it up and stared at it for a moment, "might I suggest your original goal?" Salvia suggested, calling out the black and blue pokemon from the confines of the pokeball. Salvia walked up to one of the smaller pokemon and knelt down in front of it, presenting the food for the Bidoof to take the pellets leaving the princess to watch it approaching the other Bidoof.

"Yeah, you're right," Ash replied, carefully watching the plump mouse pokemon eating the food given to them, he looked up to the aura pokemon and nodded, "you're right, I need to start anew, otherwise what would have Dawn achieved by giving her life away in exchange for mine?" Ash started to ask with a deep sigh.

"Exactly, giving up because things don't go the way you want it to go doesn't help you or anyone else, you have friends here to support you, Greed, Hilda, Hilbert, me," Salvia continued to explain to Ash about the people around him, she looked back and closed her eyes for a moment the wind picked up the leaves sending them into the distance, opening them yet again, the princess watched the leaves dance into the distance, "I have decided, whatever Shade and Hollow are planning I will assist you, they might be games to them, but there is more at stake, no more sitting back watching you get into trouble," Salvia watched the clouds continue through the sky as the determined expression became more obvious in her eyes.

"Even putting your life on the line?" Ash questioned the Sinnoh Royal, Salvia nodded without hesitation and stood up, letting out a concerned smile Ash, turned away with his pokemon standing between him and the princess, 'again she is right, I cannot let my new friends down, they are willing to fight no matter what the odds,' Ash thought to himself, thinking about Dawn, 'Dawn, I promise you, from now on I will go forward with my life, so please watch over me as I fulfil my dreams,' Ash prayed to his deceased love.

Salvia watched Ash and proudly kept her gaze on him, "you know Lucario, I think Ash is about ready to go forward with his life, I know it must be difficult for him….. honestly it has been difficult for me as well, I lost my best friend," Salvia whispered to the pokemon standing next to her, she looked back to discover that the plump mouse pokemon were finishing their food, she held back her tears, looking up in hopes that Dawn was watching over Ash.

**(Near Pastoria City)**

"Damn you both, when I am done with Pride and Wrath, I will deal with you Shade and Hollow," Dusk looked back, she hid herself in the forest as the pokemon stared at her with apprehension, "get lost all of you," Dusk demanded the pokemon but they remained on the sport and tilted their heads, 'those two cannot hide anything from me, they want to find Arceus, I will stop them,' Dusk promised herself. The blue haired Dark Aura Master started to remember the words of the spirit of Dawn.

As the Dark Aura Master continued towards the city she was stopped by a powerful explosion that sent the pokemon running away in fear, the bird pokemon flew from the canopy of the forest, Dusk looked up to find a large man emerging from the trees on the road, "you are Dusk, the one who killed Gluttony!" the man yelled at the woman.

"Yeah, I destroyed him, so who are you?" Dusk asked the powerful man.

"I am fury, I am rage, anger embodied, they call me Wrath!" the man introduced himself to the Dark Aura Master.

Dusk started to crack her knuckles and smiled at the Shadow Lord, she stood up and started to power up her aura, "a shadow Lord, well this makes my job so much easier," the bluenette decreed, she started to laugh as the powerful Shadow Lord charged towards her, knocking down trees without any amount of care.

Dusk jumped back as Wrath punched the ground she was standing on, creating a powerful shockwave, "what?" Dusk's eyes widened in fear, she watched the Shadow Lord rushing towards her, not giving her the time to counter attack, "damn I should have taken a rest," Dusk continued to evade the powerful attacks of the Shadow Lord, "what are you lot doing here, get lost now!" Dusk demanded of the pokemon to leave the area.

Meanwhile at a safe distance Shade and Hollow were watching the dust rising from the forest, "ah there they are Dusk and Wrath," Shade whispered as a broad smile crossed his face, signalling for Hollow to follow him, the Dark Aura Master rushed towards the developing battle.

"Yes, but what of the Aura Guardian and the princess?" Hollow asked Shade with a concerned tone.

"I don't care, but the games have just began," Shade declared with a smirk.

Further back Ash froze on the spot, he looked up to see the pokemon flying away from forest that was further away, Ash clenched his fists in anger, "something is happening," Ash stated, the princess looked up and felt the shockwaves coming from the origin of where the pokemon were, "Dusk is fighting again," Ash announced what he had feared.

"Then we better hurry and save her as well," Salvia pushed Ash forward.

"She would hate that, from what I can tell with her, she isn't the type that likes being rescued," Ash whispered making the princess pause in her actions, Ash looked back and nodded at the young royal, "but we cannot sit back as one of our…." Ash gulped for a moment as he began to shudder with the idea, "allies, yes Dusk is a friend," Ash struggled to confess the status with the princess.

"Alright, then why are we still here?" Salvia stood next to Ash, questioning his hesitation.

"No more hesitating, let's go forward and protect this world," Ash announced his new found resolve to the princess, running ahead of the royal who watched him heading towards the newest fight.

Salvia placed her right hand over her heart and smiled, "again, you amaze me," Salvia professed to herself.

"Hurry up princess, we have a region to save," Ash called to the royal.

Smiling at herself she ran towards Ash with a redness running across her face, 'this is what this feeling is like,' Salvia thought as she gained ground on Ash, 'the feeling of being in love,' Salvia reminded herself of her feelings yet again, not wanting to say anything out loud, 'I will hold back for now, he has a lot to worry about, I don't want him to worry about another situation,' Salvia told herself as she continued running to Ash's side.

* * *

**Alright ladies and gents Ash, Salvia and Dusk, will be involved in three games, but sadly I have no idea what kind of games to put them through.**

**Next time chapter 16: The Punishments Due.**

_**Okay I admit it, I used the title of my next chapter from one of my favourite songs**_


	16. Punishment's Due

**Chapter 16: the Punishment Due.**

_**Summary: **__before reaching Pastoria City Ash and Salvia get caught in a fight between Dusk and Wrath, but before the battle end, as the outlook on life, Dusk starts to change._

* * *

Dusk stood her ground, the trees on the ground felled by the power of Wrath, "What's the matter little girl, no one to rescue you?" Wrath asked the woman with a confident smirk.

Taking her chance to spit out some of the blood in her mouth, "me? I need to be rescued," Dusk started to question the lack of logic coming from her foe, "you attack me from out of nowhere and you think I need to be rescued," Dusk started to charge the Shadow Lord, her right hand glowing black, she clenched her fists and swung her fist out towards the foe.

"Ha, weak," Wrath taunted the Dark Aura Master, jumping into the air.

Dusk leapt back to avoid the body press of Wrath, glaring at him she stood at the ready in a boxer's stance, "I am only getting warmed up, you bastard," Dusk snapped at the enemy, the Shadow Lord started punching the Dark Aura Masater, managing to dodge the attacks, her hands glowing black and blue she ducked one of the punches and unleashed a powerful uppercut, sending the Shadow Lord into the air.

Landing on the ground the Shadow Lord remained motionless, gripping the dirt surrounding him, the arms collapsed causing the Dark Aura Master to ease her guard, "ha too easy," Dusk confidently stated as she turned towards the city and started walking.

"Is that all?!" Wrath asked the bluenette.

Dusk glanced over her shoulder as fear became more obvious in her expression, "how are you still standing?" Dusk asked the Shadow Lord.

"You hit like a little girl," Wrath taunted the young woman.

"You son of a bitch! I am girl!" Dusk angrily retorted with her eyes fixated on the Shadow Lord, "but for that comment, I am going to break every bone in your body, just like I did to Gluttony," the blue haired Aura Master decreed her intentions to the Shadow Lord, she charged towards her new enemy and unleashed a powerful kick directed at his head.

Much to Dusk's surprise the kick was blocked by the muscular arms of Wrath, "is that all you have?" Wrath asked the woman with a proud smile, grabbing her right leg he prepared to slam her into the ground.

Gathering her aura Dusk prepared her defence, "I am not giving up Wrath," Dusk decreed as she was slammed into the ground, the Aura shield dissipated allowing for her to get back up, panting from the vicious assault unleashed by the Shadow Lord, "is that all you have? You bastard," Dusk started to waver as she started to notice that her aura was starting to deplete and fast.

As Wrath was about to land the next attack he was tackled away from the Dark Aura Master, "that is enough!" Ash growled at the Shadow Lord.

Dusk looked up and noticed Ash standing ready to fight the enemy she was fighting against, "you idiot, this my fight, get lost!" Dusk ordered the trainer to leave the fight.

"You know, Ash isn't here to save you, he is here to save Sinnoh," Salvia walked up to her look alike. Helping her up, "you shouldn't be doing things alone," Salvia informed the bluenette calmly.

Dusk glanced over to Ash and frowned at him, "I couldn't care less about this region, but if you want to save someone, he should save himself, he hasn't even recovered from the last time we met," Dusk whispered her concerns for Ash, she looked over to the east and spotted Shade and Hollow, "so you two were watching this?" Dusk asked the two Dark Aura Masters, she pushed the princess aside and recklessly charged towards her former allies.

"Oh come on we thought you could handle it yourself," Shade calmly said as a smirk ran across his face.

"Like hell you did, you will still suffer my wrath!" Dusk charged towards the Dark Aura Masters with no care for her wellbeing, as she got closer and prepared to punch the former ally, her fist was grabbed by Hollow who glared at her.

"You see, your amnesia was easy to manipulate, plus we had every intention of having you killed, because like your friend over there," Shade pointed over to Ash who was fending off Wrath, he looked up to dusk and saw her spitting at him, hitting his face, he wiped it away and shook his head, "you aren't very lady like," Shade started laughing at his scapegoat.

"No one ever asked me to," Dusk retorted in her own sense of sarcasm, "you couldn't even tell me your true intention, you're after Arceus aren't you?" Dusk questioned the Dark Aura Master.

Ash took a quick glance out towards the left and noticed the danger Dusk was in, "so Wrath, why are you even here?" Ash asked the Shadow Lord furiously.

"I am here to bring Dusk to Pride, then she will be sacrificed for the rise of Arceus, but you are needed as well," Wrath informed Ash.

"You see Dusk, you are still needed, we cannot kill you just yet, but very soon your usefulness will be over," Shade nodded at his teammate and who forced her arm behind her, "don't resist, you don't have that much Aura left and not only that, we would hate to see you break your arm," Shade whispered into the ear of the young woman.

"She isn't going anywhere!" Ash yelled out, tackling Hollow to the ground, forcing him to let go of Dusk, Ash looked back and stood back to back with the woman, "are you alright?" Ash asked the bluenette.

"I never asked for your help or even wanted it in the first place, so there will be no thanks from me," Dusk hissed her response from, "so what is the situation?" Dusk immediately asked her new found ally.

"Well let's see, it seems like we are the intended targets," Ash answered with a hint of cynicism, he looked over to the young royal and thought about what was told of him mere moments ago. "also Shade and Hollow, actually have someone else, you aren't actually a Dark Aura Master, like you think you are," Ash informed the young woman, her eyes widened in disbelief, she scowled at the Aura Guardian.

"So what does that make me?" Dusk asked the raven haired man.

"I don't know, I thought you already knew," Ash retorted as he felt the elbows of Dusk digging into his back, Ash leapt forward and turned to the young woman, "hey what the hell was that about?!" Ash yelled at the blue haired Aura Master.

"You got in the way," Dusk argued with the trainer.

Ash ducked after sensing the attack of Wrath, he started to glow blue as his aura started to appear, 'damn, I cannot use too much Aura, or I might pass out this time,' Ash returned the attack knocking Wrath back, but he still managed to stay on his feet, "hey what's going on?" Ash complained about the endurance of the Shadow Lord.

"Well I hit with everything and he still gets up, well good luck since I am not helping you out," Dusk smirked at the Aura Guardian.

Ash and Dusk stood back to back again as the enemies started to surround them, "I have a plan," Ash stated with the princess watching from behind the trees.

"Don't care, stay out of my way," Dusk charged towards her former allies.

Ash grabbed the arm of Dusk but was punched by the young woman sending Ash flying to one of the trees, "you need to listen, I have a plan!" Ash yelled at the young woman as she changed her target of her assault to Ash, Ash dodged the attack as one of the trees fell to the ground, "come on Dusk this is stupid we shouldn't be starting a fight now, we can do that later," Ash tried in vein to convince Dusk.

"I told, I don't want your damn help!" Dusk snapped at the trainer, but was soon surrounded by the Shadow Lord and the Dark Aura Masters, she looked at either side and smiled, "come at me, I will still destroy you," Dusk challenged her foes, boldly awaiting the foes to attack her, they all charged at her but she jumped into the air, during the attack Wrath grabbed her leg once again and started to send her crashing to the ground, before she hit the ground Ash flew in to make the save, "what the hell are you doing?!' Dusk asked the Aura Guardian.

"Salvia now!" Ash called to the princess.

"Gardevoir, use Flash to blind the enemies," Salvia instructed her pokemon, appearing in the middle of the battle, Gardevoir emitted a blinding light that prevented the enemies from seeing properly, Salvia rushed up to Ash and Dusk, "alright Gardevoir get us out of here," Salvia ordered her pokemon to help them with the retreat.

As the light vanished the three victims who had covered their respective eyes, started to get a fix on their vision, Shade looked around and noticed that the two who were meant to be captured were no longer in the area, "well it seems like they have escaped, oh well at least they can still play our little game a little while longer," Shade started to laugh at the new development, "Wrath, you're free to go, just don't follow them, that is up to us," Shade instructed the Shadow Lord.

"I don't take orders from little ants like you!" Wrath angrily retorted as he went to grab the throat of the Dark Aura Master, but was easily evaded by the young man.

Shade grabbed the right arm of Wrath and turned him around, "listen we are after the same targets, we cannot afford to get careless now, plus those two are their own worst enemies, so it would be easier to let them fight one another," Shade informed the Shadow Lord.

"Um Ash, are you certain that she can be trusted?" Salvia asked the trainer, turning their attention to Dusk who was on the bed, "she didn't hesitate for a second to attack you again," Salvia informed Ash who showed equal concern for the Aura Master.

Ash looked down at the unconscious woman, "yeah I know, if we can convince her to help us defeat the Shadow Lords and stop the Dark Aura Masters, I don't care what she does next, she doesn't want to destroy the world," he explained while placing his hand over his chin.

Salvia started walking to the door, "even if she turns her rage onto you?" Salvia asked the young man, to which he nodded in response, "I see, but please don't do anything that would sadden me," Salvia requested, knowing it was a selfish request.

Ash watched the young royal walking out, feeling a hint of guilt overriding his thoughts, 'why does she care this much?' Ash started to question himself

**(Veilstone City)**

Paul walked over to the guard who was sitting up in the bed, eating his food, "you know, I was sworn to protect the royal family, but I cannot do that now," the royal guard informed Paul who took a seat next to him.

"Alright, then tell me, where are they going?" Paul asked the soldier calmly.

"Pastoria City, it will be an ambush, designed to kill the princess and the king," the guard informed Paul who grabbed an apple, "I need to go now," the injured soldier informed the powerful trainer but was pushed back into the bed, "hey what was that about?" the guard asked the trainer.

"Not in your shape, I will be going instead," Paul started to exit the room, he looked back with a proud smile crossing his face, "plus if the crown princess is with Ash, then you have nothing to worry about, I trust that Ash has her wellbeing in check," Paul assured the guardsman as he closed the door.

Looking around the royal guard spotted a remote for the TV, "this is stupid, I am the one supposed to put his life on the line for the royal family, I was trained for it, and now I have two trainers doing the task I was trained to do," the soldier grew frustrated, he desired to get back to protecting the royal family.

Paul walked out of the hospital and halted on the spot, he looked up towards the room, "so now I need to save my old rival," Paul started to complain about him being forced to take action, he turned his attention towards the exit of the city, seeing the trees rising over the horizon, seeing them heading off into the distance and towards his destination. "so there are an organisation called the Shadow Lords," Paul whispered to himself, he walked towards the southern streets, ignoring the people in the city.

"Did you hear the rumours? Someone looking like the great Coordinator was involved in a fight," one of the female members of the community asked her friend.

Paul stopped to listen in, hoping it would shed some light on what was going on, "yeah I heard about it, but Dawn was kind and caring, from what I have heard this look alike is ferocious," the blonde haired woman stated with a concerned tone, "sad really, I really idolized Dawn, for her to go to lengths to destroy someone in order to win," the woman stated while thinking about the time she watched the bluenette at one of the contests.

"Excuse me, both of you are saying that Dawn is alive, the last I heard from one of my friends she was murdered," Paul informed the two people, remembering what the injured royal guard had told him.

"Yeah, but what of the person who looks like her?" the woman asked the trainer.

"First I need evidence of this, until evidence is provided, then you cannot take these rumours seriously," Paul informed the women as they looked for something in their bags.

Eventually they pulled out a picture of a fight that had taken place moments ago, "my friend was near that fight, they took a picture of the fight," the lady stated as she handed Paul the picture.

Stunned at what he had seen, he noticed someone that looked like his friend, he pushed the photo back into the hands of the women and ran off to get to Pastoria City, 'how? What's going on?' Paul questioned the person he had discovered, realising that he had seen a doppelganger, but the most striking feature was her blood-lust, her thirst for battle, "that wasn't Dawn, not the one that Ash was going to marry," Paul whispered as he continued to push people aside to make his exit of the city.

**(Near Hearthome City)**

Walking out of the house with a cup of hot chocolate, he scanned the garden and spotted Salvia having a conversation with her psychic pokemon, "hey princess, I have some hot chocolate for you," Ash called to the young royal.

Salvia looked back with a thankful expression, she politely grabbed the cup and started to sip the drink, after taking her first sip she glanced back at Ash, "thank you Ash," Salvia thanked the young man.

"Not a problem," Ash quietly replied, she looked over to the royal's pokemon and smiled at it, "you have a really nice pokemon," Ash complimented the princess.

"So Ash, how is Dusk doing?" Salvia asked the trainer. Before Ash could respond a loud sound emanated from the house, "what happened?" Salvia asked the Aura Guardian.

Ash rushed into the house to see furniture all over the place, he shot his vision over to an angry Dusk who was destroying one of the rooms, "hey calm down," Ash called to the blue haired Aura Master.

Dusk charged towards Ash, with her fists at the ready, she didn't hesitate, grabbing her fist Ash slid back from the force of the attack, "I don't like being rescued, even by the likes of you," Dusk announced her displeasure to being saved by Ash, she tried to force Ash to let go of her right hand, "I hate you!" Dusk declared her dislike for Ash.

Ash smiled at the young woman as she unleashed another punch at the Aura Guardian to which he also stopped the attack, "you are the exact opposite of Dawn," Ash started as he was being pushed back by the powerful woman who was attacking him.

"Let go of me or I will kick your damn head off," Dusk threatened the trainer.

"Listen, you cannot be a lone wolf, I want to talk to you, what you do afterwards, well that is up to you," Ash informed the Aura Master. Letting go of her fist he walked over to a chair to start a conversation with the Aura Master, "come on, we don't have to be enemies," Ash tried to reason with the bluenette, but she maintained her anger towards Ash.

"Ash is right, you want to get your revenge right?" Salvia started questioning the Aura Master.

Dusk glared at Salvia and started to settle down a little, she shot her vision back to Ash, "this isn't over, I will listen for now, but don't think for a second that I have let you off the hook yet," Dusk stepped back after her fists were released by the Aura Guardian.

"Alright, but first your injuries," Ash pointed to the graze on the right leg of the blue haired woman.

"I will be fine," Dusk replied coldly, she started limping towards the last standing couch trying her best to ignore the pain, she was stopped by her counterpart, "what do you want?" Dusk asked viciously.

"It could get infected, if that were the case, your leg would be amputated, if you're anything like Ash, you would also be drained of you aura," Salvia argued with the Aura Master.

Dusk looked up and started laughing at the trainer, "I am nothing like that idiot, but I still need to fight, so I have no choice in the matter don't I?" Dusk asked the two as they nodded at her, "alright if you two must know, I have no recollection of my past," Dusk confessed to the two people, she looked away as the princess started helping her while leaned on the wall with his arms crossed, "I thought Shade and Hollow could help me, but it is now obvious I can trust no one in this world," Dusk explained her original plan to Ash and Salvia.

"Did you know that Shade and Hollow think this entire situation is nothing but a game?" Ash asked the Aura Master, but she ignored the question, glaring at the trainer, "that they were using you to achieve their goals, heck I am even part of their sick plans as well," Ash told her as she turned away from Ash.

"Shut up, I am not interested in what they have in store for you," Dusk snapped back, she felt a sharp pain shoot up her body as the princess put disinfectant on her right leg, "hey that really hurts you fool," Dusk berated the princess.

"You know, that it is for your own well-being, unlike Shade and Hollow, we do care about you," Ash informed the blue haired Aura Master.

"Highly doubt that, how do I know that I am not a pawn to you?" Dusk showed even more distrust in Ash and the princess.

Ash looked at the ground, hiding his displeasure at the current situation, "because, life is a precious gift," Ash repeated Salvia's words to the Aura Master, he turned towards the door and put his hand on the door handle, "you shouldn't throw your life away so readily," Ash told the silent woman who looked away from Ash, he exited the house, he stepped outside seeing the clear sky with the storm clouds rolling in from the west.

"Why does he care?" Dusk asked the young royal.

"Ash lost someone important to him, he felt responsible for what had happened, so he sought revenge against the Shadow Lords," Salvia tried to answer the Aura Master's question, she opened up her bag and pulled out the white cloth, Salvia started to wrap Dusk's leg, "he isn't out to use you, he really needs your help, he wouldn't admit it either."

"So he saved me, because I am needed in this world?" Dusk asked the princess, to which she nodded in reply, she watched the young royal pulling out a picture of her family and she handed it to the Aura Master, "what is this?" Dusk questioned the princess, looking at the happiness of the young royal and her family, with the palace in the background, the large garden which was behind them.

"When I was at my happiest, with mom and dad," Salvia answered he look alike, "that was taken before my mother was killed, since then my father has been depressed, he is being used by the Shadow Lords and I am meant to be killed by them," Salvia explained the situation to the lady, she watched her get up and start limping to the window.

Dusk looked at the picture again and then towards Ash, "so you are like him, you cling to the past, one day princess you will need to make a tough decision," Dusk informed the blue haired royal, she watched Ash calling out for his Lucario and smiled a little, "you know, my opinion of him has changed…." Dusk confessed much to the joy of the young royal, "but only by a little," Dusk finished her comment, but the princess was still relieved by the words of the Aura Master.

"Ash is a great person, he isn't perfect, but…." Salvia was interrupted by the woman as she tried her best to explain to her doppelganger about Ash.

Dusk handed the picture back and placed her hand on her head, "don't say anything, I know about people's feelings, I can read you like a book," Dusk informed the Sinnoh born royal, she walked towards the door and pulled it open, "you're in love with him," Dusk walked out the door not waiting for the princess' reaction, she closed the door and walked away on her own, she glanced over to Ash, 'know this Ash, no harm better come to Salvia, because if she gets hurt, your head will roll,' Dusk glared at the Aura Guardian.

"There you are," a familiar male voice rang in the air.

Dusk clenched her fists and prepared to fight, "Shade and Hollow, what are you two doing here?" Dusk asked the Dark Aura Masters.

"Oh please, we are here to give you a message," Shade informed the Aura Master, Ash ran up to Dusk and stared at the Dark Aura Masters, "good, now the two of you are here, time to let you know something important," Shade kept his vision on Ash and Dusk while the duo noticed that Hollow wasn't around.

"What is it?" Ash growled at the Dark Aura Master.

"Get well soon, the fun and games are about to begin," Shade informed the two much to their dismay.

"Fun and games?" Dusk asked her former ally.

Before they could look around they heard the screams of Salvia, "I wouldn't move if I were you, unless you want the princess to be hurt in anyway," Shade hissed at the two in front of him.

"You bastard let her go, she is no threat to you!" Ash grabbed Shade by the collar.

"Calm down Ash, we need to figure out what Shade is going to do with the Princess," Dusk tried to calm the trainer down.

"Well that is obvious, we are taking her to Pastoria City, since you were taking forever to fall for a trap, but I am guess you knew all about the trap, no thanks to Greed," Shade pushed Ash's hands aside and turned away, he was accompanied by Hollow who was holding the princess over his shoulder, she tried to break free but Hollow was too strong.

"Let me go!" Salvia ordered the two, but they continued to walk as Ash tried to run to save her, "Ash, help!" Salvia pleaded with Ash.

"Salvia!" Ash called to the princess, but as he got closer Shade immediately turned around and punched him in the stomach to prevent him from chasing them.

Dusk tried to run but the pain in her right leg prevented her from going to far, "damn, they took the princess," Dusk hissed as she grabbed her right leg.

Winded by the punch that brought him to his knees, Ash watched in horror as the young royal was taken from him, "Salvia," Ash whispered her name, grabbing his stomach Ash got up slowly as Dusk tried to chase after the Dark Aura Masters, but was going nowhere due to her injury.

"Get back here you cowards!" Dusk yelled at the Dark Aura Masters, but to no avail, they were gone and taking the princess to Pride and to her demise. Dusk turned to Ash and glared at him, "get up now, we are going to chase them down," Dusk informed the raven haired Aura Guardian.

After slowly making it back to his feet, Ash nodded at the Aura Master, "I refuse to lose someone close to me again," Ash promised himself, he started walking towards the city with Dusk following him, Ash looked into his right hand and started to think about something that was now bothering him, 'why am I so interested in saving the princess? It wasn't long ago when I would have told her to get lost, but now I want her at my side,' Ash started to think about something, but was hit on the left shoulder.

Dusk shook her head and walked ahead, "no time to think about that, we have to save the princess, that means I will rip their arms off, but if they hurt the princess, I will destroy them," Dusk declared her intentions to Ash, limping slowly towards the next fight that she would have to face her former allies.

* * *

**An unlikely team up has just occurred, with the same motivation, to save the princess from the Dark Aura Masters, will they save her in time? And what does this new experience tell Ash? It is now a race against time to save the Sinnoh Royal family.**

**Next up Chapter 17: Auras Collide.**

_Currently heading into the final chapters being written, the number of chapters completed is 30/38 with another one almost complete, that means there is only 7 chapters left to complete, plus the almighty epilogue chapter, what does this mean? it means now I will be releasing chapters for this story more frequently until I have caught up, this also means that on Tuesday there will be a release followed by another on Wednesday, please enjoy ladies and gents, also please tell me what you think of the story, would like to see what your thoughts are, Thank you _


	17. Auras Collide

**Chapter 17: Auras Collide.**

_**Summary: **__Salvia has been captured by the Dark Aura Masters Shade and Hollow, it is up to the unlikely team of Ash and Dusk to save her, Ash realises something important._

* * *

Ash and Dusk continued on towards the next city in hopes of catching up with Shade and Hollow, Dusk looked to the right to see Ash was sulking, upset that the person he needed to protect was taken from him, "if you are going to mope like this, you might as well go home, I don't want you holding me back," Dusk coldly informed the Aura Guardian, she walked ahead of the Aura Guardian not wanting to hear any excuses from him.

"No I am going to save her, I don't to keep looking over my shoulder to search for the past," Ash responded to Dusk's cold question, glancing over his shoulder once again, "but sometimes that is the most difficult thing to do," Ash whispered not knowing that Dusk was shaking her head in anger.

"You lack resolve, but if you get in the way, I will kill you," Dusk threatened the young man.

Ash sighed and increased the pace of his advance to the princess, "it is almost dinner time," Ash stated but Dusk ignored the trainer and continued to walk towards the rescue of the princess, "we cannot go without food, we need to keep our energy up, plus I don't think Shade and Hollow would let the princess go hungry," Ash reasoned with the Aura Master.

"You can stay put and eat, but I on the other hand have more important things to deal with," Dusk hissed back at the trainer, she continued on towards the road, but soon looked back with disappointment, she walked back to where Ash was setting up camp, "I see, you know that very soon we will be back to fall strength," Dusk admitted to Ash who nodded his head.

Ash rolled out his sleeping bag and grabbed a cauldron, "I will be getting the firewood," Ash informed the woman, he walked off to gather what he needed, leaving duck behind.

Dusk noticed that Ash had left his backpack behind, she approached it cautiously, taking a moment to see if Ash was returning just in case he had forgotten something, she opened it up and felt a small circular item, she pulled it out of the bag and started to sense the aura on the ring, "he is holding on to this," Dusk whispered to herself, she pulled a picture from the bag and noticed that Dawn was clinging to his arm, her smile broad and with Ash at his happiest, "he asked her to marry him," she sensed as she read the aura on the ring.

Dusk heard the rustling in the bushes, she quickly placed the items back and closed the bag, she looked up one more time and noticed a small pokemon, "you scared me," Dusk growled at the pokemon, her foot hit the bag knocking a pokeball out of the bag, it had a lightning shape on it, Dusk knelt down and picked it up, she immediately felt the Aura of his starter pokemon, she saw his past with Pikachu and his adventures with him.

Moments passed with Ash returning with an armful of firewood, "sorry I took so long," Ash apologised to the young woman.

"I think I understand a little more about you," Dusk whispered softly, she started cutting up the food, she glared at the trainer and pointed the knife she was holding at the Aura Guardian, "your past was filled with adventures and friends, it even had Dawn," Dusk acknowledged the impact Dawn had on his life, thinking back to seeing the close bond Ash and Dawn had.

"So you read the Aura the items had from my bag?" Ash asked the Aura Master, to which she nodded in reply.

Dusk placed the knife back on the table and placed her hands on either side, "alright then I have a question for you," Dusk stated her next move, Ash listened not wanting to interrupt the blue haired master, "what does Princess Salvia mean to you?" she asked the trainer calmly.

"What why would you ask that question? She is just a friend," Ash started to question the Aura Master about her choice of questions.

"Forget it, pretend I said nothing," Dusk replied, she looked up to see the puzzled expression on Ash's face, but also noticed something else, something she hadn't seen before, a slight redness on his cheeks, 'friends, yeah right,' Dusk picked up the knife and continued with the task of preparing the food.

"So you don't remember the past," Ash tried to start a conversation with the Aura Master, Ash heard the knife hit the table, immediately recognising the anger of the bluenette Ash turned away and tried to prepare the fire. "No forget it, we need a plan, we should use this resting period to come up with one," Ash looked over to his bag.

"A plan, we should rush in and destroy the lot of them," Dusk replied as she placed the vegetables in the container.

After starting the fire and gathering the fresh water the two placed the ingredients into the pot, they took turns stirring and keeping an eye on it, Ash looked towards the distance as a feeling of guilt washed over him, the sun was setting and the darkness of night was about to set in, "what is you intention after we defeat the Shadow Lords and the Dark Aura Masters?" Ash asked the Aura Master.

"Simple, destroy you," Dusk retorted calmly.

Ash grabbed a bowl, not wanting to reply to the Aura Master, "grab some food," Ash instructed the blue haired woman.

**(Near Pastoria City)**

Tied up to a tree Salvia was sitting down unable to do anything, she kept picking at the rope that bound her to the tree, she watched her captors eating their meals, "what about me?" Salvia asked the Dark Aura Masters, "surely you can give me some food," the princess informed the duo who ignored her, "are you two listening?" Salvia asked the enemies, but they continued laughing and joking about.

"You better give her something, it isn't like it matters anyway," Shade instructed his teammate, he watched Hollow walking up to the princess with some food.

"Here," Hollow put the food in front of the princess.

"That is great and all, but my hands are tied up and I cannot reach the food," Salvia hissed at the Dark Aura Master.

"Well then you better figure out a way to get to your food princess," Shade explained to the royal, he signalled for Hollow to walk back to him, while the princess looked at the food.

Salvia used her feet to bring the bowl of food closer, tipping a bit of it onto the floor, she looked over to the table where her pokeball was sitting, 'if only I had help from Gardevoir,' Salvia thought to herself as she tried her best to bring the food closer to her, "I am a prisoner and they cannot even look after their prisoner," Salvia told herself as she stopped bring the food closer to her, she looked at the food, seeing that there was less in the bowl and more on the ground.

Salvia tried to loosen one of her arms and eventually wriggled one free, "yes, now to try and break free," Salvia whispered to herself, but soon stopped while Shade approached her.

"Clever little princess," Shade whispered, he knelt down tying up her left arm again, "you know something, you really are beautiful," Shade complimented the princess on her looks.

"I can't stand people like you," Salvia replied venomously.

Bursting into laughter Shade turned away from the young royal, before walking away he glanced over his right shoulder and smirked, "I am not interested in you either, you are just a piece to the puzzle," Shade informed the princess calmly.

She watched the Dark Aura Master leaving her as they entered their tents, her thoughts soon drifted to Ash who wasn't anywhere near her, "Ash," Salvia whispered the Aura Guardian's name.

Back at the camp with Ash, he kept his eyes on the stars unable to fall asleep, he watched the trees swaying in the gentle breeze and the songs of the nocturnal creatures, he glanced out the corner of his eye and noticed Dusk was sound as sleep. Sitting up and slowly undoing his sleeping bag, Ash started walking up to the small river, the moon's light reflected on the surface, "I have been foolish of late, I should be thinking of revenge, but Salvia has managed to talk me out it," Ash clenched his fists in frustration.

Dusk awoken from her slumber and spotted Ash sitting at the front of the river, "what is he thinking about now?" Dusk asked herself, but soon fell asleep, not wanting to waste the night's sleep worrying about Ash.

Ash stared at his reflection, "why am I so concerned?" Ash raised his hand getting ready to punch the water's surface.

Before Ash could punch the water, he decided against it, he turned to the moon's reflection and smiled at it, "you know Dusk, there is something you need to know, it has been Salvia that has comforted me a lot," Ash told the Aura Master who was pretending to sleep.

'So my suspicions were correct, he is in love with her, those two are as guilty as the other, oblivious to one another's feelings,' Dusk resisted the urge to laugh at the expense of her allies.

"It has been six weeks since I lost everything, but now I feel like I have gained a companion for life," Ash whispered to himself, trying his best to comprehend what had happened, "but there is no way Salvia would be in love with me, since she is a princess and me, we I am just a normal person," Ash continued to tell himself, seeing the royal's face in the water. Ash quickly looked back but no one was there to hit him or comfort him, 'you're right Dusk, I have fallen for the princess,' Ash confirmed the suspicions of the Aura Master.

Salvia stared at the moon unable to fall asleep, "yeah, those two can sleep, but it is really cold out here," Salvia complained as she kept her eye on the full moon, 'I don't know how it happened, but after a while, my thoughts were directed at Ash, but he didn't seem to notice,' Salvia thought to herself trying to come to grips with her own feelings, 'but as time went on in the last few weeks, I found myself falling in love, but then again…' Salvia looked at the ground as she took a deep breath, "he didn't notice my deepening feelings for him."

Salvia watched the clouds starting to cover he moon, the wind showed signs of getting stronger, "if only I was more confident, I would have told Ash, but now, I don't think I will get that chance," Salvia started lamenting the lack of courage that she had, the sound of the nocturnal pokemon started to get drowned out by the strong breeze as rumbles of thunder rang through the air.

Ash watched as the moon's reflection started to disappear, "it's back," Ash smiled at himself, he looked at his hands and then clenched them into fists. Ash turned to where the clouds were coming from, he watched as the storm started to gather intensity, the lightning struck in the distance, instantly starting a fire in the forest. Ash jumped up and started running towards the forest.

Dusk opened her eyes and spotted Ash leaving the camp, "where are you going?" Dusk asked the Aura Guardian.

Ash froze for a moment, he looked up and heard the panicked cries of the pokemon in the forest, "I am going to chase after them," Ash announced his intentions.

Dusk sat up and looked towards the storm, "I see you have fully recovered your aura," Dusk noticed the blue glow around Ash, "alright, if the princess isn't all that important to you, why are you choosing to go?" Dusk questioned the black haired Aura Guardian.

Ash looked at the ground and smiled, "I don't understand really, but it is something I need to do," Ash explained to his friend, he looked back and smiled at the Aura Master, "no need to worry," Ash used the line his former partner would use at him.

"Now I am worried," Dusk replied with a sigh.

"About the fact that I will not save you anyone to fight against," Ash joked before he ran off towards the next fight.

"Exactly," Dusk whispered, she looked up at the orange glow that was reflecting onto the clouds, the thunder grew louder as her thoughts turned towards her own future, "maybe one day I will find a new goal as well, maybe I have to experience life instead of trying to destroy one's life," Dusk explained to herself, "not much longer and my Aura will be back as well," Dusk grinned at the prospect of her participation in the fight.

Ash ran through the road, pass the scared pokemon and some of the people who were leaving the area, Ash closed his eyes and started to figure out where Salvia's aura was, "damn, wish there wasn't so many people," Ash growled at the situation, his concentration broken because of the screams of the people and cries of the pokemon, the continual rumbles of thunder and the crackles of fire, "wait a minute, I shouldn't be trying to find her aura, I should be trying to find Shade's and Hollow's aura, since it is different from mine, it should be easier to notice," Ash reminded himself, he shut his eyes again this time he scanned the area until he noticed the two different Auras not too far from where he was, he started running pass the panicking people towards the where the princess was being held captive.

Shade jumped out of the tent and rushed towards the royal the fires continued to rave through the forest, "Hollow not time to pack our stuff up," Shade informed his comrade, "we are leaving now," Shade informed the other Dark Aura Master, he tied up the princess and pushed her towards the exit of the forest.

"You two aren't going anywhere!" Ash yelled out, punching the ground causing a powerful burst of energy and forming a crater, he glared at Shade and Hollow, "you will give her back," Ash growled at the Dark Aura Masters.

"Hollow, keep the intruder busy," Shade ordered his teammate with a smirk.

Ash rushed towards Shade but was quickly stopped by Hollow, "you will pass me," Hollow informed Ash.

Ash tried to get around his foe, but the burning trees crashed around him, he looked back to discover another branch crashing behind him, "fine, I will not go backwards, not anymore, I will go forwards and that means if you're in my way, I will push charge through any road block," Ash explained his intentions to Hollow, the heat of the fire continued to escalate further.

"So, you want to fight me, Shade never wanted it to come to this just yet," Hollow started glowing with a purple aura, "don't worry, I will only beat you to within an inch of your life, you are still useful, we cannot have you dead yet," Hollow explained his purpose to Ash.

"I am so flattered," Ash charged towards his new foe, a starting to glow a bright blue, he raised his right fist as his foe pulled back with his left fist, "I will not be losing any more important people!" Ash asserted his ideals on the foe. The two fists collided causing a powerful shockwave, knocking trees out of the ground the two combatants leapt back as lightning crashed where their respective attacks had collided.

"Not back for a rookie," Hollow grinned at his enemy.

"Thanks for the compliment," Ash replied with a hint of sarcasm, "but I have experience with aura," Ash snapped at his foe, charging yet again, he watched his foe let loose another powerful punched to which he evaded, jumping to the left the trainer was soon stopped by Hollow who grabbed his arm, sending him flying towards the wall of flames that kicked up as more branches fell around the two fighters.

Ash landed in front of the flames as the wind started to fa the flame, Hollow watched Ash skidding closer to the fires, but soon stopped, "there is no escape for you, but before I beat the crap out of you, I think I will let you in on a little secret," Hollow started taunting Ash.

"A secret, what could it be?" Ash whispered to himself.

"You are an Aura Guardian, but people like Dusk, Shade, Willow and myself are known as Aura Masters, you know what that means?" Hollow asked the trainer after explaining the situation to Ash, Hollow started laughing at the young man who was gritting his teeth in frustration, "simple it means we have mastered all forms of aura, but you on the other hand, you have only mastered one form," Hollow explained the trainer's weakness.

Ash punched the ground releasing a small burst of aura, "one form of aura is all I need!" Ash recklessly rushed towards the more powerful master, "don't underestimate me!" Ash punched the Aura Master knocking him back, but the Dark Aura Master remained focused on his goals.

"One form of Aura?" Hollow started laughing at the trainer as he started to gain a blue aura, "unfortunately for you that will not cut it," Hollow started as he pulled back his right arm for another hit on Ash, the Aura Guardian leapt back to evade the attack, but soon felt a powerful burst of aura tingling up his legs, "Dark Aura Masters also control a corrupted version of the standard Aura you use, as well as our own Dark Aura."

Ash stood back up and smirked at the foe, "we also share the same weakness, the more aura you use, the weaker you become," Ash confidently stated.

"True, but how long can you last before I run out of aura?" Hollow questioned the trainer about the obvious statement.

Meanwhile Shade continued to push the princess further towards the city, "hurry up princess, your father awaits you," Shade started to taunt the young royal.

"Ash will stop you and your plans," Salvia angrily replied, but the Dark Aura Master started laughing at the princess who continued down the road, as the storm started to reach its peak.

"I welcome him to try," Shade challenged the trainer, "look your final destination," the Dark Aura Master pointed to the lightning illuminated city.

Salvia looked at the city as fear started to creep in, her eyes widened, feeling the first spots of rain hitting her face, 'Ash, please hurry,' Salvia wished in a panicked tone.

As the princess was being taken to Pastoria City, Dusk was running towards the fight between Ash and Hollow, 'let's hope I can be of assistance," Dusk hoped as she pushed through the final parts of the crowd of people, she looked up to see the fiery glow of the forest that was now fully ablaze, the scorched earth around her and the lost pokemon caught in the fires, she looked up and spotted Ash jumping around to evade the attack, "I see, he is planning on having Hollow waste his aura while he is using none himself," Dusk whispered to herself, she rush head long into the fight.

"Is that best you've got?" Ash continued to mock the Dark Aura Master, Ash felt his back hit a tree which was behind him, seeing that the more powerful fighter was charging towards him, he waited for the next attack, but before it landed Hollow was sent flying towards the wall of flames by Dusk, "what took you so long?" Ash asked the bluenette.

"Go, you need to save the princess, I will rip Hollow to pieces," Dusk instructed Ash, Ash started running towards the city but was soon stopped by Hollow, who had landed in front of him, "I will destroy you later Ash, but for now you have a kingdom to save," Dusk issued her instructions to Ash, she charged straight at the powerful member of the Dark Aura Masters, while Ash nodded in approval.

Ash started running as the Dark Aura Master was sent crashing to a tree ahead of him, Hollow charged towards him, forcing Ash to defend himself, using a small portion of his aura Ash deflected a burst of dark aura directed at him, "get out of my way!" Ash demanded the Dark Aura Master, gathering aura into his right hand, he rushed towards the opponent with Dusk following close behind him.

After the two allies knocked the Dark Aura Master into one of the fences Ash quickly ran off towards the city with greater urgency, not daring to look back, "I will be there soon," Ash whispered to himself.

While Ash was running towards the city, Hollow started running towards the trainer, but was soon stopped by the bluenette, "where are you going?" Dusk asked the former ally, "now I have nothing holding me back," Dusk started laughing at her foe.

"I can sense you don't have all that much aura left, you should have recovered," Hollow replied sneering at his former teammate.

"I don't need aura to crush you, I will destroy you with my bare hands," Dusk answered back with a hint of sass, she started cracking her knuckles and assumed a boxing stance.

"Again with boxing, I have no idea who taught you that, but this crap ends now," Hollow growled at the Aura Master.

"Try it if you can," Dusk goaded the foe, he watched him rushing towards her, and stepped back with ease to evade the attack, the Dark Aura Master unleashed a flurry off attacks to which Dusk started dodging again, "is that you have?" Dusk continued to tease her former ally, she looked around to see the flames climbing higher into the canopy, the heat started to overwhelm her, 'I need to end this quickly,' Dusk acknowledged the plight of the situation.

"Time to end your meaningless existence," Hollow promised the young woman, forming a large ball of aura that was growing larger.

"So you mean to wipe out this entire area, you cowardly bastard," Dusk hissed with disdain directed at her foe, 'I can deflect that with ease,' Dusk charged towards the ball of dark aura, kicking it into the air, her kick flew through the sphere, much to her surprise, "what happened?" Dusk asked as she fell to the ground.

"Simple that was a diversion, you should have seen it coming," Hollow informed the younger Aura Master.

Dusk looked up to see another much larger sphere falling towards her, "I am not giving up!" Dusk growled at her foe, she formed a ball of aura much smaller than the one falling towards her.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Hollow replied as he watched the Aura Master leaping up to the ball of Dark Aura, as the two spheres made contact a powerful explosion ripped through the area, sending the blue haired Aura Master crashing into the ground.

Dusk slowly got back to her feet panting after the attack, she noticed that Hollow was now missing, as parts of trees started raining down on the battlefield, she began by scanning the area for Hollow, "where are you?" Dusk asked herself, quietly as the thunder started up again, lightning struck a nearby tree forcing Dusk to jump quickly from the exploding tree, the fires raged on until she spotted Hollow running off from the battlefield, she noticed a trail of blood coming from the direction he was taking, "let the hunt begin," the Aura Master cleared the blood from her nose as she grinned at the prospect of the chase.

Ash continued his pursuit of Shade as he headed to the city, he noticed that there was more light, but the clouds were still dark as the rain started to get heavier, clenching his fists Ash halted for a moment and took a deep breath, "I won't only save Salvia, but I will also meet the leader of the Shadow Lords," Ash understood the fight that rested before him, 'hold on Salvia I am on my way,' Ash started running towards the forces of the Shadow Lords, not showing any hesitation.

"The Aura Guardian is here!" one of the soldiers told his men, but before a defence could be raised the black haired guardian pushed through with his powerful aura, "he isn't stopping," the commander gritted his teeth as his men started to fall and the defence started to crumble.

"Seems like he has made it just in time," Shade laughed at the actions of Ash.

"Shade, it seems like you have gotten reckless," A powerful voice rang in the area.

Shade looked over to a powerful man who was approaching the young royal, "whatever, I have brought the person you wanted Pride, now we need to wait for the Aura Master and the Aura Guardian," Shade looked back to see Ash had finally caught up to him, "here he is," Shade grinned at the Aura Guardian, but also noticed that Pride and Salvia were no longer in sight.

"Where is the princess?" Ash asked his foe, angered by the fact that he was now alone.

"I handed her over to Pride, you missed them by a few minutes," Shade started approaching Ash, but seemed to show no intent in fighting, "my mission is over here, I have another goal in mind," Shade menacingly laughed at the Aura Guardian.

"First you kidnap the princess and now you walk away?" Ash questioned the resolve of the Dark Aura Master.

"You got that right," Shade answered Ash, he walked off leaving the puzzled trainer wondering what his intentions were.

"He is playing mind games," Ash assumed quickly, he turned around quickly to enter the city, "no time to act on Shade, I have to save the princess," Ash rushed into the city looking around with a concerned expression.

* * *

**Ash missed the princess by a few minutes as the leader of the Shadow Lords takes the princess to Pastoria City where the trap will be sprung, Ash will be left with a choice that will change the course of the conflict.**

**Next time Chapter 18: The Aura Storms forth**


	18. The Aura Storms forth

**Chapter 18: The Aura Storms Forth.**

_**Summary: **__head long into battle, Ash heads to a fight that will determine the fate of the world, there he is confronted with a choice that will cause an unsettling change within him._

* * *

Salvia was pushed into a building where the guards kept an eye on her, she looked around without the ropes, she noticed the food that was on the table, slowly approaching the table she stared at the food, she was hungry but didn't want to risk the chance of food poisoning, she heard the door opening over the thunderstorm, she looked back to see her father entering the building, "dad, what are you doing?" Salvia asked her father still displeased at his recent change in personality.

"You ran away, you were plotting against me," the king informed his daughter with anger.

"No I wasn't plotting against you, Pride is lying to you," Salvia tried her best to reason with her father, but the king grabbed one of the apples and bit down on it.

"The food is good, this is your last meal," the king informed the princess with a cold tone.

"No it isn't dad, I have someone out there that can save me, but if you cannot listen to reason, then I will be left with no choice…." Salvia started to hesitate, she opened her mouth wanting to finish the sentence, but thought otherwise, "no dad, I will stop you, after all you are being used," Salvia continued to tell her father of what was happening.

"Pride promised this kingdom that they will have a queen," the king informed her daughter.

Salvia looked at the plate with tears streaming down her face, "it doesn't matter how much you wish for it dad, no one can bring back the dead," Salvia argued with her father, upset at admitting this piece of information to her father.

"I will not be giving up," the Sinnoh King informed the bluenette, he opened the door and walked out of the building leaving the royal on her own.

Salvia heard the door slamming as the lightning illuminated the area, "I am not strong enough to tell my father, please Ash, help my father," Salvia clasped her hands together and prayed for some miracle.

Outside the king was walking through the city, on his own, until he was approached by the leader of the Shadow Lord, "so you met your daughter again?" Pride asked the leader of the region.

"Yeah, she was babbling on about how you were using me," the leader stated with a soft grin.

"Why would I be doing that? I know what is important," Pride reminded the man, trying to assure him that everything was alright, he watched he king walking ahead, 'yes that's right long live the king,' Pride smirked, the Shadow Lord glanced at the building where the princess was being held captive, 'soon my plans for this region will be realised,' Pride thought to himself.

Ash rushed through the streets, with the rain starting to get heavier, he noticed a man turning around Ash approached him and stopped, "you, are you Pride?" Ash asked the man.

The man known as Pride turned around and smirked at Ash, "ah the Aura Guardian I have heard so much about," Pride turned to Ash.

"Tell me where is she?" Ash questioned the leader of the Shadow Lords. Pride turned away and started walking towards the eastern side of the city, "you didn't answer me, where is Salvia!? Ash yelled out his question, he started to glow blue before charging towards the Shadow Lord leader.

Pride calmly stood ready to receive the attack, he watched Ash raising his right fist, but it seemed like it was in slow motion for him, he grabbed the Aura Guardian's fist preventing the attack from landing, "pitiful, Aura Guardians of the past were way stronger then you," Pride belittled the raven haired man.

Pride let go of the trainer's fist allowing him to jump back, "I am not going to ask again, tell me where is the princess?" Ash persistently asked the leader of the Shadow Lord.

"Fine, if you want to know," Pride pointed towards the house behind him, Pride smirked at the young man and started walking away, "I have no idea why you want to save her, she isn't all that important, unless….." Pride placed his hand over his mouth resisting the urge to laugh at the Aura Guardian.

Ash glared at the Leader of the Shadow Lords, "what is it?" Ash asked angrily.

"Nothing, I just find it funny…. Funny that you care so much about her, in fact, if I was going to take a wild guess, one might suggest that you're in love with the princess of this region," Pride started to taunt the trainer, he walked away laughing at the man who was slowly approaching the building that he was directed at, "this is precious, a person of no royal blood, in love with the princess who will be killed in mere moments from now," Pride wiped away tears of laughter.

"I will save her," Ash hissed, he continued on spotting the guards.

Meanwhile to the north of the city Paul was making his way to the city in hopes of catching up with Ash, Paul noticed the storm growing stronger, the lightning hitting the water's surface and the loud claps of thunder overhead, the cliffs glowed white as the lightning continued to move closer, "so this storm is getting worse, I better hurry up," Paul started running towards the coastal city of Sinnoh.

The lightning illuminated a powerfully built man, he was staring at the ground as the rain started to hit his body, "my name is Wrath, I am assigned to prevent people from entering the city," Wrath looked up to Paul as he stopped running.

"I couldn't care less who you are, you're in my way, if you don't move, I will force you to move," the experienced trainer informed the Shadow Lord.

"You little pipsqueak, I will destroy you for that!" Wrath charged towards the Sinnoh born trainer.

'Judging from his appearance, I have no chance in fighting him in hand to hand combat,' Paul watched the Shadow rushing to him, "so I am left with no choice, Machamp, stand by for battle," Paul called out a four armed pokemon with greyish skin colour, "hold him back Machamp," Paul instructed the pokemon, the powerful pokemon grabbed the powerful man with his top two arms.

"Seriously, is that all you have?" Wrath asked the trainer, he pushed the powerful fighting type pokemon away and performed a lariat on the trainer's first pokemon, knocking him back with ease.

Paul remained calm, not wanting to lose his nerves in the fight, "you don't have a pokemon, but since you're a Shadow Lord, I don't think that matters to me in the slightest, you are all a problem for the world for the Sinnoh region, for that I will destroy you," Paul explained his intentions to Wrath as his pokemon started to fire a flurry of punches.

"Pitiful, runts like you don't stand a chance against me," Wrath grabbed one of the fists and counted with a powerful punch of his own.

Paul remained calm, "if that is the best you've got, then this will be so much easier, my Machamp was trained to take on the most powerful pokemon," Paul watched as his powerful pokemon stopped moving and prepared to make his own counter attack on the Shadow Lord, "I think it is time for Machamp to take this fight to the next level, with Dynamic Punch," Paul ordered his pokemon to make the next attack.

Back in Pastoria City Ash was charging through a group of soldiers yet again most of which were sent into the air, Ash's aura exploded with great power, easily evading the power attacks from the pokemon, "oh come on, surely you idiots can do better than this," Ash commented with frustration, the soldiers fought with unnatural strength, 'something isn't right here, Soldiers should never fight like this,' Ash thought until he noticed a hint of dark aura around the men, 'so that's how it is, Shade and Hollow each gave them their respective auras,' Ash started to defend himself.

The king watched as the soldiers fought against the single fighter, "Pride that is near where my daughter is," the king told the Shadow Lord, showing a hint of concern for the princess.

"Yes, he was assigned to help her assassinate you sire," Pride lied to the king.

"I see, so they both need to be killed," the king replied with a frown, he charged towards the fight with Pride watching with a sense of joy, he walked slowly down towards the fight behind the king, showing no sense of urgency.

"Get out of my way!" Ash yelled at the soldiers, but they refused to move out of the way, they all continued their relentless attacks on the trainer, 'this dark aura has clouded their vision, they see me as their enemy, I think I need to just knock them out,' Ash thought to himself, hitting the foes on the backs of their head knocking them out.

Ash quickly looked over to his right and noticed another man approaching him, "Salvia's father, why is he here?" Ash asked himself trying to figure out as the situation began to get worse.

"Young man, you dare plot against me," the king asked the Aura Guardian.

"What the hell are you talking about? I have no interest in plotting against you, in fact I have no idea who you are, you're a complete stranger to me," Ash reasoned with the leader of the region.

"It doesn't matter, you have both arrived to dethrone me, now, I will execute you both here and now!" the killed told the trainer of the plans to get rid of the princess and Ash, "men, seize him, also take my daughter to the gallows with him close behind her," the king ordered the corrupted men.

'I don't want to hurt the soldiers they won't even remember their actions, but I have a plan,' Ash lowered his guard to let himself get captured, 'a trap of my own,' Ash thought as his arms started to get bound by the ropes. He started walking behind the royal with Salvia getting closer, "hey princess," Ash greeted the bluenette.

"A fine knight you are," Salvia joked with Ash.

"Hey take it easy on me," Ash replied with a cheeky grin, "supposedly we are meant to be hung for our treasonous crimes, but luckily for us I have a plan," Ash whispered confidently as he continued to walk towards the last prison cell.

"Yes, but you still could have gotten away, I mean I am insignificant," Salvia lowered her gaze to the ground.

"I wanted to save you, after all, you are my best friend," Ash scanned the area knowing that something was about to happen, 'hurry up Paul,' Ash thought to himself sensing the former rival close by.

"You know something Ash, I never thought I would be hung next to you," Salvia started to get a little upset, she looked up to find a wooden structure, with two ropes hanging from the top part.

Paul continued to push Wrath back into the seaside city, until he spotted Ash and the princess walking to the floors of the gallows, "Torterra, save those two!" Paul called to his starter pokemon, as the ropes were placed around the necks of Ash and Salvia the grass type pokemon prepared to unleash a powerful set of leaves directed at the rope.

"Any last words?" Pride asked the trainer.

Ash smiled at the sight of the grass type pokemon, "yeah, go to hell," Ash replied as he was being pushed the rope was sliced through with an accurate Razor Leaf attack, "thanks Paul!" Ash yelled out his appreciation, the princess was saved next and was caught by Ash who immediately placed her back onto the safety of the ground.

"How did you know?" Salvia asked the Aura Guardian.

"Everyone has a different aura, so I knew my old Rival wasn't too far away," Ash answered with a nod directed at his friend.

"I see," Salvia replied with a submissive smile.

Ash pushed Salvia out of the way as the king landed in between them "you really are a fool," the king charged towards the trainer attacking up with a dagger, Ash evaded the attack with little to no effort.

"For someone who has royal blood, you sure fight dirty," Ash jumped back with a look of disdain.

"Dad, please stop, he isn't the enemy!" Salvia tried to beg her father, but was soon grabbed the leader of the Shadow Lords.

"No Salvia!" Ash evaded the next attack and charged towards Pride, he trackled the powerful member forcing him to let go of her, "you will not harm her in any way!" Ash declared furiously, but was easily pushed off by the enemy. Ash landed in front of the princess, clearing away the blood from the corner of his mouth, "are you alright?" Ash asked the princess, he looked around and found themselves surrounded.

"What do we do?" Salvia asked the Aura Guardian.

"Well we are surrounded, outnumbered and I have plenty of aura to….." Ash stopped as he looked over his shoulder to find Salvia with a fearful expression, 'even in this situation, I cannot even tell her, it must mean something,' Ash thought to himself as he returned his focus on the enemies, "nah forget it, just stay close," Ash whispered to the princess, fending off the attackers by knocking out the soldiers with a well-placed chop to the back of the head.

"He isn't even aiming to kill them," Pride noticed the aims of the trainer, 'he must have noticed the Dark Aura,' Pride reminded himself as he watched the trainer defending the princess from harm, 'but he has a weakness,' Pride thought as he glanced over to the king, "sire why not take the opportunity now to kill your traitorous daughter?" Pride asked the king to finish the job.

While Ash was preventing the soldiers from hurting them he failed to notice the father of Salvia rushing towards his daughter with murderous intent, "now to end you both!" the king yelled out in anger.

Pride waited for the opportunity to make his move, 'that's right, almost time, time to change the world,' Pride thought to himself. Pride vanished and appeared next to the king as he got closer, "the pawn has finally met his end," Pride told the king aiming an attack towards him and his daughter.

The King with a shocked expression moved in the last minute to take the attack for his daughter, "no father!" Salvia screamed out in horror as the king collapsed, blood coming from the wound and his mouth.

Ash quickly turned towards the king and made it to Salvia's side, "sire, you alright?" Ash kneeled down next to the royal family.

"I guess it…is too late for….apologies," the king struggled to apologise for his actions.

"I know what it's like to lose someone you love, I lost my fiancé because of the Shadow Lords," Ash replied with a serious expression, "you saved your daughter's life, that is redemption enough," Ash assured the king.

The king started to breathe heavily as the Shadow Lord leader started to laugh at the three people, "I missed one," Pride growled waiting for the king to pass away from his injuries, "you will be joining him soon enough," Pride promised the princess as he watched with a satisfied expression.

"Please, look….a-after my daughter….." the king finally died from the savage blow from the Shadow Lord, raising his arm before it fell to the ground.

"Father, father, please stay, don't die….." Salvia pleaded in vein, but no response was heard from the king, Salvia remained motionless, not even taking notice of Prides vicious intent to finish the job.

Ash got up and grabbed Pride's right arm, he glared at the Shadow Lord, "enough is enough!" Ash yelled out as his hand started to glow with a dark aura, "you killed the king, you hurt the princess, I will make suffer!" Ash punched the Shadow Lord with all his might.

"What is this?" Pride looked on in shock as the Aura Guardian stared at him with darkened eyes.

Meanwhile back in the forest Dusk stopped chasing after Hollow, she looked back towards the city, "this is odd, I sense a powerful yet dark aura," Dusk gulped at the sensation, she turned towards the city, "Salvia better not have been hurt," Dusk started running back towards the city giving up on her chase of Hollow.

Shade started to shudder at the feeling as well, he was only metres away from Dusk, but knew that something was up, "this cannot be, the Aura Guardian had this type aura," Shade started to step back as fear gripped him.

**(Near Eterna City)**

Hilda placed her hand on her head, wincing in pain from the sensation that she was feeling, Hilbert glanced over to his wife in concern, "are you alright?" Hilbert asked the brunette.

Hilda quickly looked to the south of the city, "yeah, but something doesn't feel right, I shouldn't be sensing it from this far away," Hilda stated as she began to shiver, "is this what feeling aura is like, this is coming from Pastoria City," Hilda informed the experienced trainer.

"Wait that is where Ash is," Hilbert replied with shock.

"Yeah, that confirms is, this is Ash, something terrible has happened," Hilda confirmed with fear, she looked at the ground, "it must have been too much, seeing everything bad happening, someone close died," Hilda explained the situation to Hilbert.

"It must be the king, Ash would do anything to save Salvia," Hilbert stated with a worried tone.

"Yeah, but it wasn't Salvia that was killed, it was her father," Hilda replied sadly.

**(Oreburgh City)**

"Oh man, that sensation is strange," Greed rushed towards the northern limits of the repairing city.

Melissa walked up to Greed who was trembling in fear, Melissa with a fearful expression looked towards the city, "that Aura belongs to Ash, but this is different, it is almost pitch black," Melissa stated as she started shaking in fear.

"Yeah even though I cannot sense Aura, I still sense something has happened, but even Aura Guardians like you shouldn't be able to feel this aura from here," Greed explained to the Kanto Princess.

"I don't know why, but this is unsettling," Greed ran back to his apartment to grab his stuff, "damn you Pride, I have had enough waiting to destroy you," Greed whispered as he ran with Melissa watching from a safe distance.

**(Pastoria City)**

Ash rushed through the soldier mercilessly, not taking any considerations for their well-being, taking the dark aura that had corrupted them, he continued his charge towards the leader of the Shadow Lords, but was soon stopped by Wrath, "you're in my way," Ash coldly informed the powerful member.

"I am defending my leader," Wrath retorted as he charged towards Ash.

The two enemies punched one another, but Wrath was the only one sent flying away from the battle, Pride who was looking on gasped in shock at what had happened, "no way," Pride watched as the trainer charged towards his foe.

"Don't worry Pride you will be next," Ash promised the Shadow Lord.

Salvia watched in disbelief at the sight of Ash fighting both the powerful members of the Shadow Lords on his own, 'this isn't like him,' Salvia slowly got to her feet, she was soon surrounded by the soldiers that swore to defend the kingdom.

Ash quickly noticed the danger she was in and rushed to her side, he watched as the soldiers started their attack on the blue haired royal, "not on my watch!" Ash yelled out in anger, he charged through the crowd of soldiers then pulled out his pokeball and tossed it out in anger, "Lucario, I choose you!"

Pride nodded at his teammate and the two simultaneously rushed towards Ash and the princess, "we will destroy you!" the Shadow Lord leader yelled out furiously.

Ash defended himself, standing between them and the bluenette, "you will not harm Salvia," Ash growled at the two men, they jumped back slightly and rushed again while Ash awaited for them to make the next attack, Wrath punched Ash on the face, while he was kicked by Pride sending him back towards the soldiers leaving Salvia on her own.

"Now to finish off the royal family," Pride smirked at the princess, as he prepared to land a fatal attack, Pride felt a powerful burst of energy coming from where Ash had landed, Ash now glowing with a black aura jumped into the air with his fist surrounded by a blue aura, Ash landed infornt of Salvia punching the ground, causing a powerful shockwave that pushed Salvia back a few feet, "he is still fighting?" Pride asked himself, trying to figure out what he needed to do, 'there is too little space,' he thought to himself as he noticed the fallen trees and the destroyed buildings.

"Sir, what do we do? We are out matched at the moment," Wrath tried to reason with his leader.

Pride punched one of the walls next to him, unable to achieve what he had set out to do, "damn that trainer, the Aura Guardian and the princess, they ruined everything!" Pride furiously stated the failure of his mission, he looked down at the trainer glaring at him, unable to contain his anger at the defeat he had suffered, "just you wait Aura Guardian, You won this round, but the next time, I will destroy the royal family and the Sinnoh region will belong to me," Pride rushed off with Wrath, leaving the angry Aura Guardian to watch the soldiers retreat with the two Shadow Lords.

"Get back here you cowards!" Ash called for the Shadow Lords, but they continued their retreat, "Pride you coward, when I get my hands on you, I will kill you!" Ash threatened the leader of the Shadow Lord.

Salvia noticed the dark aura still hanging around Ash, she also noticed the Aura Pokemon barring his trainer's path with the help of Paul, "Ash calm down, first you need to comfort the princess," Paul tried his best to reason with Ash.

"But Paul the king was murdered, I don't sit back and watch his murderer run free!" Ash argued with his former rival.

Paul raised his right fist and swung back, "that is exactly what you need to do now!" Paul snapped back, punching Ash, he fell back as Paul followed through, "right now, you both are in trouble, Pride is going to use this situation to his advantage, he is going to lie through his teeth," Paul explained the upcoming situation to Ash.

"How would you know?" Ash asked coldly.

"Because I met with a royal guard a few days ago, he told me everything about this trap," Paul explained to Ash as the princess fell to the ground, "a trap you two fell for, it cost the life of this region's king," Paul grabbed Ash by the collar, he pulled him up and glared into his eyes, "now, you two will be framed meaning you have made more enemies than you should have," Paul informed the trainer and the princess of the situation.

"Excuse me, sir…" Salvia hesitated for a moment, "Paul is it?" Salvia asked the former rival of Ash.

"What is it?" Paul asked the young royal.

"How do you know this sort of stuff?" The bluenette asked the purple haired trainer.

"Because Pride seems like the enemy that can turn the situation to his advantage, he is going to lie to the royal guards and tell them that you two were the ones who assassinated the king," Paul explained to the shocked duo.

Salvia fell to the ground in fear, she knew that the royal guards of this region were feared by other members of the royal families of other regions, "but my father, he saved me," Salvia looked down at the lifeless corpse of her father.

"So, you two have caused more troubles that you should have," Dusk shrugged her shoulders, she approached the Aura Guardian and grabbed him by the collar, "what the hell happened?!" the bluenette asked the trainer, now shaking the shocked trainer violently, "tell me, why did I sense your aura all the way from Hearthome City?" Dusk continued to interrogate the young man, but no response emerged from Ash.

"You, you're not Dawn, who the hell are you?" Paul pushed Dusk off of Ash.

Dusk pushed the trainer's arm away from her, "if you want to live to see Christmas I would recommend not touching me ever again," Dusk threatened the lavender hair, she ignored the trainer then turned her focus back onto Ash, "now what the hell happened?" Dusk questioned Ash.

"I don't know, when I saw Salvia's father get killed by Pride, I just lost it," Ash tried his best to answer.

Dusk turned to the princess and noticed the dead man in front of her, "so you go angry because of the death of a stranger," Dusk asked the Aura Guardian, 'everything has been building up, the loss of his fiancé, his family and now Salvia has lost her father,' Dusk explained the situation to herself, she looked up to see that the storm was clearing up, the rain started falling steadily and the rumbles of thunder rolled on in the distance, "come on, the Pokemon Centre is still open," Dusk stated as she lead her lighter counterpart to the medical facility.

Salvia still in shock looked back to her father, unable to release the tears she wanted, she remained quiet, knowing the sacrifice of her father, 'Ash and I made more of a mess,' Salvia thought as guilt pulsed through her body.

Ash started hitting the ground in anger, "Pride! Your turn come soon enough!" Ash yelled out in a blind rage, hitting the ground again, knowing that the real fight was about to begin, "I failed miserably!" Ash continued to hit the ground, causing bits of aura to pulse out of him.

"What was that Aura?" Paul asked his friend.

"Dark Aura, now I have the ingredients to become an aura master, but I don't know how to go about it," Ash looked up to the clouds as the rain started hitting his face, "I am scared of mastering it, in case I hurt Salvia, I don't want to hurt her," Ash admitted his fear to Paul.

"So now your greatest weakness in now the princess, something I am certain the enemy will take advantage of," Paul retorted with a frown, he looked over to see Dusk and Salvia entering the building with a red roof.

* * *

**The death of the king has severely dented the resolve of both Ash and Salvia, with Ash questions whether he has what it takes to be an Aura Master.**

**Chapter 19: Into the Wind.**


	19. Into the Wind

**Chapter 19: Into the wind.**

_**Summary: **__when victory comes at a cost Ash and Salvia must find the resolve to head to a brighter future, Salvia chooses to take a new step in her life, before they head towards the next stage in the conflict._

* * *

It was quiet in the empty Pokemon Centre, Ash and Salvia were sitting in separate parts of the medical facility, not even looking at one another, feeling like they let one another down after the costly victory against the Shadow Lords, Ash had a plate of food in front of him with a cutlery set in his hands, 'that was the first time I was overcome by dark aura,' Ash thought to himself, barely able to remember the last part of the fight with Pride.

Salvia who was still in a depression after the loss of her father, on her own with nothing to say, she slowly looked up finding that Ash still had a plate of food in front of him, 'he hasn't even touched his food yet,' Salvia told herself, concerned about the trainer, knowing that the food was starting to get cold.

Dusk walked into the main foyer seeing her two friends sitting silently, "they have been depressed for three days, it is like they don't have an answer," Dusk whispered before hearing the footsteps of Paul.

Paul looked over to Ash who started eating his meal slowly, "well you didn't help, first you berated Ash, then told him he needed to embrace the dark aura," Paul reminded the Aura Master.

"Can it fool, I don't see you making any effort in telling them what they need to know," Dusk retorted viciously.

"I gave them space to think about what they needed to do next, not jump in telling them the situation as it was," Paul argued with the young woman. Paul walked towards the exit with a frown, "you know you might look like my friend, but you certainly don't have the same considerate nature she had," Paul reminded the bluenette.

Dusk turned towards the princess who pulled out a photo of her family, she walked over to her doppelganger and pulled out a seat, "you know, memories are great, it will be difficult to go forward," Dusk tried to reason with the young royal.

"I know, my father might have changed, he saved me in the fight, but he was still family," Salvia tried to cry, but nothing was happening. Salvia glanced over to Ash who was slowly eating his meal, "but I am more concerned about him, he hasn't been the same for the last three days," Salvia whispered softly, she thought back at how Ash fought against the Shadow Lords, "it was scary, Ash wasn't himself," Salvia started to picture the trainer's actions in her mind.

Dusk listened to the worries of the princess, she didn't even know what had truly happened, "I see it seems I was only assuming what had happened," Dusk confessed her own faults to the princess.

"What makes you think it was your fault?" Dusk asked the blue haired royal.

"Because I was captured, Ash and his friend saved me and yet I froze in fear as my father was killed in front of my eyes," Salvia replied with a sombre tone, she looked at the picture of her family, seeing the smiles on their faces, "I have lost that part of my life forever," Salvia stared at the picture.

"No you haven't I might have gotten in the way for the last couple of days, but I have noticed that you have someone who can make you happy," Dusk tried her best at being nice, 'man being nice, doesn't suit me at all,' Dusk started complaining to herself.

"But I don't know if he feels the same way," Salvia replied with quick glance towards Ash.

'Man she is dense, but then again, he isn't innocent either,' Dusk shook her head, Dusk got up and started walking away from the princess, she started making her way out towards the exit where Paul was talking to his pokemon.

Salvia walked away from the table, ignoring Ash, she entered the hallway, still coming to grips with her loss, "I thought I was stronger with Ash around, but in that one moment I was proven how weak I really am," Salvia reminded herself as she walked up to her door, she opened it slowly and entered her room, 'I need to get stronger,' the princess reminded herself, she closed the door and turned on the light. Salvia walked up to her bed and pulled out her family picture again, 'I will not tell Ash that I love him, not until I become a stronger woman,' Salvia announced her own little resolve to her parents.

Back in the main foyer Ash walked up to the phone, he picked up the handset and started to dial a number, 'enough is enough, time to bring my best pokemon,' Ash thought as he waited for the person he was calling to answer the phone.

An elderly man appeared on the phone with shirt grey hair and a white lab coat, he was reading a book, lowering it to see who was calling him, "oh Ash, good to see you," the professor greeted the trainer.

"Sorry I haven't called in a while Professor Oak," Ash apologised to the wise man.

"I heard about what had happened," the professor replied solemnly.

Ash lowered his vision and clenched his fists in anger, "so you know about Dawn, my mother, Johanna, Piplup and Pikachu," Ash quietly whispered, he looked up to see Professor Oak nod in sad approval.

"Listen Ash, are you still going to follow your dream?" Professor Oak asked the young man.

"I don't know, my greatest inspiration is gone, plus my partner is no longer with me," Ash retorted in pain.

Professor Oak also in shock at what he had heard, he began to wonder what Ash was going to do next, "I see, so what have you been doing over the last couple of months?" Professor Oak asked the trainer with a saddened tone.

"Me, well I have been getting my revenge against the people responsible," Ash answered the professor's question, he pulled out his pokeball and stared at the device containing his Lucario, "the reason why I am ringing you is so that way I can get five of my pokemon," Ash informed the well-respected expert on the reason for the call.

"Ash, I don't think that is such a good idea, my friend Professor Rowan was confronted by someone who looks like Dawn," Professor Oak informed Ash of what had happened, "she took a Piplup and started her act of revenge as well, she even destroyed part of the lab," Professor Oak informed Ash about Dusk's actions.

"Yeah, I know," Ash retorted softly, "but this goes far beyond revenge now," Ash argued with the professor, showing his determined expression, he started to think back about what happened to Salvia's father and then towards the loss he had suffered.

"Listen Ash, if there is something I need to know, please tell me," Professor Oak requested, but the trainer shook his head, not wanting the professor getting involved in the situation, "I see, so I guess that leaves me to ask what pokemon you want," Professor Oak stated with a hint of disappointment in the trainer.

"I am sorry Professor," Ash apologised for his silence, "can you please send Garchomp, Greninja, Charizard, Sceptile and Zoroark?" Ash requested the professor to send him the chosen pokemon, he watched as one pokeball at a time was teleported to him, he noticed the pained expression on the professor's face.

"Remember keep your pokemon safe," the elderly man finished sending the last device to the raven haired Aura Guardian.

"I know," Ash retorted quietly. Finishing the call, he placed the pokeballs on his belt and turned around to see Paul and Dusk walking in arguing with one another, "can you two please shut up?" Ash asked his two friends. He jumped out of his seat and walked towards the hallway, he looked back seeing the two leaving one another alone, the Pokemon Centre still containing but a few people, not like the usual busy facility it normally was.

Dusk turned towards the door, not wanting to bother with Ash and Salvia's problem, "I am out of here, tell those two, that if they want to catch up, I will be in Celestic Town," Dusk informed Paul, exiting the medical facility.

Paul resisted the urge to stop the Aura Master and walked over to the café, "whatever," Paul replied coldly.

Dusk walked to the western side of the city, glancing back she felt a little upset with the failure of her mission, "I had a chance to stop them, but I was too busy focusing on destroying my former teammates," Dusk whispered angrily at herself, she started making her way to the exit and back to her chase of the Dark Aura Masters.

Ash waited at the door of Salvia's room, he raised his left hand and prepared to knock on the door, he stopped his hand millimetres from the door, he lowered his hand and turned away from the door, taking a deep breath Ash started walking towards his own room, 'really I am pathetic, in one part I have moved forward, but in another area it is wrong of me to love someone who looks just like Dawn,' Ash thought to himself, feeling disappointed in his own move forwards

Ash was resting on the bed, his hands behind his head, he looked up to the ceiling thinking about his previous fight, "so I met the leader of the Shadow Lords," Ash whispered to himself, he still pictured the callous expression on his face, but also kept the image of the king's sacrifice for his daughter, "he told me to take care of her," Ash whispered the final words of Salvia's father. Ash raised his right hand into the air and started thinking about his unsettling change, "I don't remember anything after that."

Ash continued to stare at his right hand, remembering only what happened before, it suddenly occurred to him what was going on, "Dark Aura is something that is difficult to control, if that is the case, I need to ask Dusk something about it," Ash quickly sat up as his discovery about the dark aura continued to fill his mind.

Ash heard a knock on the door, "Ash, Dusk has gone on her own," Paul informed Ash about the departure of the Aura Master.

"What I had something I needed to ask her," Ash punched the wall on the left.

"She wanted to get out of here and chase down these Dark Aura Masters," Paul informed Ash, he walked away leaving Ash perplexed by the Aura Master's actions.

Ash heard another knock on the door, he approached the door and noticed that Salvia was standing in front of the entrance of the room, "want to come in?" Ash asked the bluenette.

Salvia hesitated for a moment, but lost the courage, she quickly turned and ran towards the main foyer, "Salvia, wait up," Ash called to the young royal, he grabbed his backpack and rushed towards the princess, she didn't reply to him, but was in a hurry, she grabbed a small amount of food and silently started exited the Pokemon Centre, leaving Ash to wonder what was on her mind, 'she hasn't even said a word to me,' Ash thought to himself.

Ash ran out of the Pokemon Centre in hopes that the princess would be around, luckily the city was silent after his fight with the leader of the Shadow Lords, "Salvia where are you?" Ash called for the young woman.

Salvia was alone deep in thought about what had happened, looking at the picture of her family, 'I was too scared to even move, Ash fought after my father was murdered,' Salvia thought to herself, she pictured the moment the king took the fatal attack in her place, "why cannot I not cry,? Am I hurting so much that I cannot release any tears?" Salvia started to question herself as a person, "or am I a horrible person?" Salvia started to insult herself as she walked alone through the empty tree line streets of the sea side city.

Ash watched from a distance seeing Salvia walking through the city, he was growing guilty for what had happened, 'this was my fault, if I wasn't so absorbed in my revenge, this wouldn't have happened,' Ash started to blame himself for the loss of the king.

Paul approached the angry trainer, noticing that he was watching the princess, "you know, you should tell her," Paul suggested with a serious tone.

"What do you mean?" Ash asked his friend.

"You're scared aren't you?" Paul asked the Aura Guardian as he glanced over his friend's right shoulder.

"What are you talking about?" Ash asked the lavender haired trainer.

Paul turned away from his former rival and started to leave the trainer on his own, "forget it, I know that you are scared in case something bad happens to the princess," Paul told his friend with a frown, he started walking to the eastern exit leaving Ash to think about his own problems, "but if you leave it unsaid, you will regret it later my friend," Paul informed Ash visibly upsetting the raven haired trainer with his comments.

'I don't know, Salvia wouldn't like someone like me, I have hurt her as well,' Ash thought to himself, now confused about his own feelings, "what changed? At first I didn't want her around, now, I feel like I need her around," Ash whispered to himself, trying his best to figure out where things changed for him.

The wind started to pick up, slightly causing the trees to sway, he watched the long hair of Salvia swaying in the breeze, she was walking slowly towards the beach and wasn't even looking back, "where is she going?" Ash asked himself curiously, he decided to follow and see what the princess was planning.

Salvia was standing on the sand, the waves crashing on the shore line, she had taken off her shoes and allowed for the water to come crashing on her legs, the sand seeped through her toes and the scent of the sea breeze started to make her more relaxed, "I resolved to become stronger, yet so far I have failed," Salvia told herself as the waves lightly hit her legs again, she was completely unaware of the presence of Ash.

Ash was watching the princess who remained motionless, her shoes behind her and the water crashing against her, "man she is beautiful," Ash whispered to himself, he sat down and waited for the princess to do something, 'she is ignoring me, I am here and she hasn't even looked back to see that I am here,' Ash thought to himself, he watched as the Wingulls flew overhead and the princess in the foreground with the sea in front of her and the sky starting to change colour.

"I need to become stronger….but I am scared," Salvia started to acknowledge the growing desperation of her place in the conflict.

Salvia looked back to find that Ash was watching her, Ash immediately stood up and started walking away, "he has been there as a pillar of strength for me, but I cannot rely on him all the time," Salvia said as she fell back.

"Great now Salvia knows that I am here," Ash glanced over his left shoulder, complaining about being spotted by the princess, he started walking back to the city, he looked once more this time seeing Salvia removing her backpack and seeing her walking with the bag being dragged behind her, "what is she doing?" Ash asked himself, his curiosity growing even more.

Salvia looked down at the beach with Ash in the distance watching what she was going to do next, dragging her backpack along the sand, hearing the waves crashing on the shore, she pulled out the picture from her pocket, she looked at the happy family she had lost, fighting back her tears she felt resistance slipping.

Ash watched the princess falling to her knees crying at what she had lost, he tried to look away, but found his eyes glued on the bluenette, 'I don't want to see her crying again, not in sadness,' Ash thought to himself, he looked at his hands as they began to shake, feeling angry at himself, "it was my fault as well, I lost control of this cold aura, when Salvia got hurt, I exploded with this dark aura," he reminded himself, quickly looking back to the young royal.

Salvia continued to cry at her loss, "dad, mom…." Salvia cried out for her parents, she started to hit the sand as she struggled to keep her sorrow in check.

Ash walked down on to the beach, after the princess who maintained a brave front all day had finally broken down, "Salvia, I am sorry I couldn't do more to save your father," Ash tried to comfort the princess.

Salvia turned around and buried her head in his chest, hitting his chest with her fists, "no it was my fault if only I was stronger, this wouldn't have happened," Salvia felt the trainer's arms embracing her.

"It was not your fault, it was the Shadow Lords and the Dark Aura Masters," Ash continued to assure the princess of the role that was played by the enemies.

Salvia stopped her tears, Ash moved his arms away and allowed Salvia to regain some of her composure, "thanks Ash," Salvia wiped away her tears, she turned to her bag and walked up to it, she opened the bag and pulled out a pair of scissors.

Salvia stood up as Ash watched the princess, "hey what are you doing?" Ash asked the princess.

Salvia grabbed her long blue hair and pulled it back, 'today is the death of the old Salvia and the rebirth of a new Salvia,' the princess, baring the blades, she placed her locks between the blades and proceeded to cut her.

"What are you doing?" The shocked trainer asked his friend, but the princess who had a fist full of her own blue hair, she lifted her hand and stared at her hair.

"Today I start my own evolution," Salvia raised her right hand into the air with the cut hair waving in the wind, she let go of her hair as it took off into the wind towards the sea, "today, I vow to become a stronger person, no more lacking in confidence," Salvia watched as her hair flew away into the wind.

Salvia now sporting shorter blue hair turned to Ash, he smiled at the new found resolve of the princess, "fine it is my turn to make my resolve, I will become an Aura Master, no more holding back," Ash promised the princess, he looked back to see the last strands of Salvia's cut hair heading towards the ocean.

Salvia walked up to Ash's side and tilted her head, smiling at him Ash placed his right hand on the back of head and scratched it, blushing a little before turning away, "come on we need to Celestic Town," Ash instructed the royal trying his best to hide the blushing from the princess.

"Are you alright? Your face was a little red," Salvia asked the trainer but Ash ignored her and continued on without answering, 'at least we have made a promise to get better,' Salvia thought as she watched the trainer walking a head of her, 'I want to tell him, but I cannot, even with my resolve, I still cannot gather the courage to tell him how I feel,' Salvia explained to herself about her lack of courage in one part of her character.

"Yeah, I am fine," Ash tried to lie to the princess to which paid off with Salvia walking ahead of him, 'great now I resort to lying,' Ash started to get upset with himself, he watched the princess who was now with shoulder length blue hair wearing an entirely new outfit, 'she looks great in her new outfit,' Ash couldn't stop staring at the princess' red dress, white tank top, black stockings and shoes.

"Come on Ash, time to head to the next city," Salvia called to Ash, he immediately snapped out of his trance, she turned away from Ash and started walking towards the main road towards the next city, 'Ash, one day, you will know the extent of my feelings for you, but I am going to wait until the time is right,' Salvia promised Ash silently.

Ash walked slowly behind the princess and watched her leading the way, 'when I feel like the time is right, I am going to tell you, still have no idea how you feel about me, but when the time is right for me, I will tell you,' Ash promised himself as he rushed up to Salvia's side and continued their push towards the next city to face off against the Dark Aura Masters.

**(Near Arrowroot Town)**

"Wrath, you head out and destroy the Aura Guardian and the Princess," Pride ordered the other Shadow Lord, who smirked at his leader and turned towards his next battle against the Aura Guardian.

"Yes Pride, those two will pay the price for their involvement in this fight, but there is also someone else that I want to destroy a friend of the Aura Guardian," Wrath informed his leader angrily, as he started to prepare for his next mission.

"Very well, but the Princess and the Aura Guardian are your first objectives, after them you have my permission to go after their friend," Pride issued his command, he watched as his ally started running away from the retreating forces, 'yes, soon I will be turning the whole Sinnoh region against the princess,' Pride smirked with great joy.

"Yeah, time to destroy, I cannot wait to defeat the Aura Guardian," Wrath grew more excited with the upcoming fight against Ash.

Meanwhile heading off towards the next city Paul noticed something in the distance, "so the Shadow Lords are on the move again," Paul hissed as he remembered his first encounter with Wrath, "he took on my Machamp, so Wrath is rather strong," Paul admitted to the power of his enemy.

Paul looked back knowing that his friends were too far away, "I am guessing that those two will be coming soon enough," Paul quickly stated with a smirk, he walked on only to be stopped by Wrath, Paul grabbed one of his pokeballs ready to face the enemy, "so Wrath we meet again," Paul calmly stated with a smirk.

"You!" Wrath growled at his first target, "you cost me my glory in Pastoria City!" Wrath yelled at the trainer, but he remained calm while the Shadow Lord continued to show his fury directed at the trainer.

Paul called for his four armed fighting type pokemon, "so you want revenge, come and take it, if you can," Paul challenged Wrath while his pokemon flexed his muscles to show his readiness for the fight, "but if you want to get to my friend, you will have to go through me first," Paul announced his intentions to fight the enemy.

"Very well you little puke, I will rip you and your pokemon to shreds," Wrath cracked his knuckles, informing Paul of his intentions in the upcoming fight.

Ash clenched his fists immediately sensing the upcoming fight, he knew something was up, so he rushed off to the fight, with Salvia following him, "Ash, wait for me!" Salvia yelled out for the trainer.

Ash stopped and noticed that Paul and his Machamp were in the midst of a fight against the larger member of the Shadow Lords, "Paul is fighting Wrath," Ash was quick to notice the start of the fight, he started to gain a blue aura before rushing towards the fight.

"Oh no, he might lose control," Salvia remembered the previous fight, showing concern for Ash, but stopped feeling concerned for Ash, "no, I cannot lose faith in him, he is going to help his friend, he will not lose control this time," Salvia confidently watched Ash charging towards the next fight, a determined Salvia watched the trainer.

* * *

**Ash and Salvia make a new resolve, heading towards their next destination, but soon find themselves helping Paul fight Wrath.**

**Next time chapter 20: The Light of Darkness**

**Well we are now at the halfway point of this story, I am going to start picking things up and as I hit the chapter 30 mark, I will start to wind things up.**

the good news is my friends is that I have started typing Fracture, Chapter 1 is complete with the second being almost finished, i think you guys will like it, but the release of it will not be happening until this one is complete and when I get some of the other stories done with other chapters, all that before I get really busy at the end of this year. with this story it will go 38 chapters with 1 epilogue chapter.


	20. The Light of Darkness

**Chapter 20: the Light of Darkness.**

_**Summary: **__Ash faces Wrath on his own in a fight to defend the new resolve, when things become desperate for Ash, he utilises a new power that could lead the way to victory._

The trees in the background and the white clouds dotting the vast blue sky, a bright blue aura surrounded Ash as he charged into the fight, fending off Wrath immediately after entering the fight, he pushed the Shadow Lord back, Ash now standing between Wrath and Paul, he stared at the Shadow Lord and grew increasingly angry at the man, "you and your leader were the reason why Salvia was reduced to tears, for that I will make you suffer!" Ash roared at the Shadow Lord, his intentions now fixed, he was ready to make his attack on the deadly foe.

'So he was only doing it because Salvia was crying,' Paul thought to himself, he looked back knowing that he needed to defend his royal friend, 'she even cut her hair,' Paul noticed the much shorter blue hair of the princess.

"No I don't need the help, I can look after myself, you help Ash," Salvia approached the battle ready to back Ash up.

'Something has happened,' Paul noted the new attitude within the princess, he turned to Ash who was getting ready to face Wrath on his own, "so you intend to face that big guy on your own?" Paul questioned his friend, Ash nodded as he awaited the Shadow Lord to make the next move.

"Oh this good, no this is excellent, I get to hit three little pidgeys with one stone," Wrath charged towards the three people, he raised his right hand balling it into a fist.

Ash waited calmly for the charging enemy who seemed too eager to fight him, "fool," Ash announced he grabbed the fist of the enemy and held him back, Ash awaited the next punch to come the trainer started sliding back as if on cue the foe released another powerful punch, this time Ash met it with his own fist.

As the first exchange continued Ash and Wrath leapt back causing the foe to become frustrated, "who are you?" Wrath asked with a panicked expression.

Ash cracked his knuckles, started to glow blue, "now that warms up are over, let's say we get serious," Ash informed the powerful Shadow Lord.

"Pride said you are a weak Aura Guardian, but you pushed me back," Wrath seemed willing to acknowledge the strength of Ash, but was still blinded by his anger and rushed towards Ash, he punched Ash yet again to which the Aura Guardian let out a sigh and defended himself, blocking the powerful hit from the deadly foe.

"Greed said you are one of the strongest, I guess he owes me an explanation," Ash whispered building up his aura to burn the powerful foe, Wrath leapt back as the trainer glared at him.

Paul watched with amazement, never knowing that his friend was this powerful, "hey what's going on here?" Paul asked but the princess remained quiet, watching Ash holding back the enemy.

"I thought you were taking this seriously," Wrath remarked with a hint of confusion.

"I am only holding back, but I will stop if you take this seriously, but if that is the best you have, then you're in for a bad time of it," Ash explained as his foe stepped back in fear.

Salvia remained calm knowing that Wrath was only getting warmed up, 'it isn't like he is holding back, it is the fact that he is scared of losing control of his dark aura,' Salvia thought to herself, remembering the first encounter with Pride and Wrath.

"Right, so we have both been holding back now," Wrath informed Ash as he removed some of the bands on his wrist and legs.

"Weighted clothes," Ash watched the items landing with great force on the ground, before he could react the enemy rushed towards him with blinding speed, he defended himself barely, he slid back after the attack, "great, this was unexpected," Ash growled he got back up and dusted off his clothes, "well this might be more interesting than I thought," he whispered to himself, almost as if he was enjoying the challenge.

"Hey it seems like he is enjoying himself," Paul pointed the smile on Ash's face to the princess.

**(Flashback)**

Sitting in a building outside the Hearthome City, Salvia and Dusk were eating a small meal, talking about Ash and about aura. "If Ash awakens dark aura, what will you do?" Dusk asked the princess, who was perplexed with such a question, "dark aura is different from your standard aura," Dusk informed the blue haired royal who was getting even more confused with the Aura Master's comments.

Salvia looked over to Ash who was standing outside talking to his aura pokemon, "how so?" Salvia asked the Aura Master.

"Dark Aura has one major drawback, it is extremely hard to control," Dusk looked at her hands and took a deep breath, "when I use it, I can barely control myself, so I find ways to fight with a mixture to increase my control, but for Ash on the other hand since he has no experience with dark aura, he will at first seemingly be in control, but the reality is, he will be finding many ways to hold back the dark aura if something happens, he will explode with anger," Dusk explained the sensation of the use of dark aura.

Salvia started thinking about the first fight with the Shadow Lords, remembering how she had witnessed Ash's aura exploding from him, "there was this one time, Snowpoint City he was involved in a fight against Lust and Envy, when Envy provoked him," Salvia started to shiver with fear, she glanced back towards Ash, with the vision of Ash surrounded by the aura, "his aura exploded and he badly injured the Shadow Lord," Salvia explained the fight to her doppelganger.

'Makes me wonder what would happen if you got hurt,' Dusk started thinking about the implications of the next fight, 'after all, she is Ash's biggest weakness at this stage,' Dusk recognised Salvia's importance to Ash, "he is important you, how will you snap him out of his use of dark aura?" Dusk questioned the princess, "remember, you don't have any particular skills, you have no aura abilities and nothing to fight off the Shadow Lords, in reality, you're useless," Dusk told the young royal with her form of brutal honesty.

"I know, I am nowhere near as strong as everyone around me," Salvia confessed her own weakness, "sometimes I feel like I have been getting in the way, but no matter what, I will support Ash," Salvia showed her determined expression to Dusk who showed her surprise to the princess.

"As I suspected, you're in love with him," Dusk started teasing her friend with a playful smile, Dusk turned her focus to Ash, "alright then, if Ash loses control, make sure you can snap him out of it, but it will not be that easy princess, he might end up hurting you," Dusk told the princess who nodded her head, 'she has courage, but lacks the strength,' Dusk thought to herself but knew that the Sinnoh royal was the only one that could bring Ash back.

"Dark aura, anger, fear, sadness, it doesn't matter as long as I can make Ash happy, because you're right," Salvia professed her intentions to Dusk, stopped for a moment and took a deep breath, she looked out the window and smiled at the man she loved, "because I love him, but I know right now I can't say anything to him."

"I see you don't want to burden him with such things," the Aura Master stated with Salvia nodding in reply. Dusk walked up to the window staring at the trainer, "you better not take too much time," Dusk warned the young royal.

**(Away from Flashback)**

Ash and the Shadow Lord Wrath continued their battle, Ash struggling to keep up with the speedy enemy, Salvia watched the battle as it unfolded in front of her, "what will I do?" Salvia asked herself trying to answer Dusk's question.

The two foes charged at each other not flinching Ash reserving his aura while Wrath was going all out against the aura guardian, "you were responsible for making Salvia cry, for that I will make you pay," Ash growled at the Shadow Lord.

"You know the last time we met you made one fatal error," Wrath stated rushing passed the aura guardian heading towards Salvia, Ash quickly started running but noticed dirt flying towards him, "pathetic, wouldn't you say?" Wrath taunted Ash.

The raven haired man evaded the dust and tried his best to catch up with the enemy, "get back here you coward!" Ash yelled at his powerful enemy.

Salvia now frozen in fear, 'no,' Salvia started to shake in fear, her hand moved slowly towards her pokeball, "Gardevoir use Psychic," Salvia quickly called out her pokemon, her pokemon's eyes started glowing causing a constrictive aura to surround the Shadow Lord, Salvia opened her eyes to see Wrath mere inches away from her, his right fist raised and his malcontent etched on his face, the princess fell back and gulp at the sight of the enemy's willingness to kill her.

Ash quickly moved as the hold of the psychic attack started to weaken, he raised his fist and punched the Shadow Lord before the telekinetic attack lost hold and sent Wrath flying to one of the trees, "you bastard, you dare threaten Salvia!" Ash yelled but the Shadow Lord again noticed the fear within the eyes of the young royal, "you persistent freak!" Ash ran at his foe, but the enemy leaped over him and towards the princess.

"Gardevoir use Hypnosis," Salvia quickly commanded her powerful pokemon. The hypnotic waves hit 2the enemy but he didn't seem to slow down.

"Salvia!" Ash hollered, he made his way urgently to the bluenette.

Paul jumped in between the attacker and Salvia, taking the punch for the princess, "you will not be hurting any of my friends!" Paul yelled at the Shadow Lord, falling to the ground after taking a severe hit from the larger foe.

Ash stopped moving in shock at what he had witnessed, first Salvia's father being murdered in front of Salvia and now his friend taking a punch for the person he wanted to protect, "you!" Ash growled, he clenched his fists as they started to glow a deep black, "how dare you!" Ash yelled at the foe.

"Weaklings fall before me no matter what, he was no different, now I am going to deal with your greatest weakness," Wrath explained his intentions to Ash, turning to the fear filled princess.

"Stay away from her! Your fight is with me!" Ash yelled at the Shadow Lord, quickly losing his composure, his aura exploding in all directions, causing the surrounding trees to topple over and the princess to skid towards the wild pokemon.

Salvia quickly noticed the change in Ash, he didn't seem like himself, his anger had taken over again, "just as Dusk told me," Salvia watched the blue aura and the black aura swirled around Ash, his eyes cold, now seemingly a different person entirely.

Ash glared at the enemy ready to attack without a hint of mercy, "now how shall we proceed with your death?" Ash asked the Shadow Lord, he raised his hand and signalled for the trainer to attack him.

'Could this be because of the dark aura?' Salvia asked herself as she remembered the conversation with Dusk. Her mouth agape at the spiralling aura, almost mixing together at the top, Salvia started to shiver in fear, stepping back, "I want to become stronger, but I cannot hold back my fear," Salvia gulped as she continued to stare at the trainer.

"T-t…that is not the real Ash," Paul sat up after taking the punch from the powerful foe, he observed the spiralling aura, Paul tried his best to get up but his strength gave way and causing him to collapse, "I am alright, the injury isn't fatal," Paul assured the young royal, he looked over to Ash and then to then princess, "I guess it is up to you to save Ash from that darkness," Paul whispered before falling unconscious.

Ash glared at the Shadow Lord and charged towards him, "I will make you suffer!" the raven haired Aura Guardian repeated again and again, not thinking of the people around him he charged blindly at the laughing enemy.

"Bring it on little runt," Wrath charged towards the rage filled man.

They collided in the middle of the field, not shying away, the two jumped back as the princess watched on in horror, 'Paul is right, this isn't like Ash, not the one I love,' Salvia started to remind herself, she placed her right hand where her hair was cut, "I promised myself that I would become a stronger person, but I never said anything about not being scared," Salvia professed witnessing the battle between the Aura Guardian and the Shadow Lord escalate further.

Wrath threw a punch at the trainer, but it was taken, Ash elbowed Wrath in the stomach, causing the powerful man to fall back, grasping his stomach in pain, "not bad little one," Wrath complimented the trainer.

"I am only getting warmed up, I intend to take my time destroying you," Ash announced his intentions for the fight, Ash formed a spiralling ball of aura in his left hand, "the pain starts now," Ash ran towards his enemy, getting ready to plunge the ball of aura into the enemy's chest.

Wrath blocked the attack but soon felt a burning sensation on his right arm, the ball of aura exploded knocking the Shadow Lord back, "damn you, where did you get this aura from?" Wrath grew frustrated with Ash and his power.

Ash refused to answer the question, a dark smirk crossed his face as he prepared another ball of aura, "the next one will destroy your arm," Ash started laughing at the Shadow Lord.

Meanwhile at Hearthome City, Dusk was walking towards the eastern half, she glanced over her shoulder sensing that something was amiss, she felt cold, sensing a burst of dark aura coming from near Veilstone City, "that is Ash," Dusk whispered to herself.

Dusk thought back to what she said to her royal friend, "I hope she finds her way," Dusk assumed what the princess' action, she continued on through the bustling city, on her way to the next mission, 'since I will not be there, I am going to stop my former teammates,' Dusk promised herself, now ignoring the dark aura that she was sensing.

As the two foes charge at one another they failed to notice the people around them, the fierce battle raged on with Ash forming a ball of aura, pushing it towards his enemy, the Shadow Lord grabbed the fist of the Aura Guardian holding back the aura, Wrath headbutted the trainer knocking him back, sliding back Ash charged yet again while Salvia watched in amazement at the ferocity of Ash.

Salvia shaking in fear, "I am wanting to get stronger, but I can see it, the anger in Ash's eyes," Salvia whispered to herself, she also started to recognise that Ash wasn't fully in control.

'Help him,' a voice echoed in her mind.

Salvia looked around to search for person calling to her, "was that, no it couldn't be," Salvia started to question herself, "I can't do it, I am too scared to even move, even if I promised myself to become stronger," Salvia tried to tell herself.

'Don't give up, I would hate for Ash to lose himself,' the voice continued to inform the princess.

"But I am not strong enough," Salvia argued with the voice.

'Yes you are,' the spirit told the young royal, 'I am leaving Ash to you,' the voice rang in the princess' mind before leaving the bluenette on her own to figure out what she was going to do.

Salvia clenched her fists, looking at the ground after hearing the guidance of the spirit talking to her, "was that Lady Dawn?" Salvia whispered inaudibly. She quickly turned her attention to Ash, determined to help the trainer, "I know what I have to do," Salvia started walking up to the battle without any form of hesitation.

After the trainer clashed with Shadow Lord, knocking him back, Ash without hesitating charged towards the foe punching him ferociously, "I will not allow to hurt anymore people!" Ash yelled at Wrath, hitting him again not noticing that the princess was approaching the battle.

Salvia grabbed the hand of Ash, stopping him from continuing the fight, "you need to stop, this isn't you," Salvia reminded the trainer.

Ash lowered his guard and took a deep breath, Ash turned to Wrath who was panting after the battle, "get lost," Ash ordered the Shadow Lord.

"I take no orders from you," Wrath informed the Aura Guardian, he ran towards Ash and performed a lariat, hitting the trainer who landed on the princess slightly hurting her.

Ash looked down in shock, seeing the princess who was on the ground hurt from the hit from his foe, "Salvia, are you alright?" Ash asked the young royal, he started shaking in anger, he glanced over his shoulder, "you, you hurt Salvia, you will die for that!" Ash yelled at his foe, charging towards him in a blind rage.

Paul watched his former rival charging towards the Shadow Lord, he grabbed his right side of the abdomen, "man, this isn't good," Paul whispered, but soon noticed that the princess was getting up slowly, 'stay down, you aren't strong enough, even I am nowhere near as strong as Ash,' Paul thought to himself, but noticed that Salvia was crying.

'I will not give up on the person I love,' Salvia thought to herself, slowly making her way towards Ash.

Ash pushed two powerful sphere of Aura into the chest of Wrath, causing the Shadow Lord to stagger back and coughing up blood, "not bad little runt," Wrath informed the trainer with a smirk, cleaning up the blood from his mouth, "but I am still standing," Wrath started laughing at the trainer.

"No way, Wrath should be on the ground by now," Paul gulped at the stamina of the Shadow Lord, seeing his friend charge once more at the injured enemy, he also noticed the princess getting closer to Ash, 'this is dangerous, but Ash lost control when Salvia got hurt, it is almost like he loves her,' Paul started to recognise the importance of the princess in Ash's life.

"This will end you!" Ash hollered as he pushed another ball of aura into his foe. Wrath fell to the ground as he took another powerful attack from Ash, the Aura Guardian still seething from the Shadow Lord's attack on his friend and the princess, "you Shadow Lords are a bunch of cowards," Ash growled at the injured Shadow Lord, Ash rushed towards his foe with what looked like a blade of aura protruding from his arm.

"No Ash, stop!" Salvia yelled out in shock immediately figuring out what he was going to do, Ash ignored her and used the aura attack to land the fatal blow.

"You are the next Shadow Lord that has been killed," Ash pulled the attack back, his enemy spitting out blood from the powerful attack.

"You have defeated me," Wrath fell on his back, staring up towards the sky he started to laugh, "you are no different to us Aura Guardian," the Shadow Lord chuckled, not realising that Ash was about to prepare for another attack not caring whether his foe was dying on the floor.

Ash charged towards the Shadow Lord still out of control, but when he was about to land the next attack Salvia ran up to him and placed her arms around his torso, "please Ash, that is enough," Salvia pleaded with the angry trainer.

Ash snapped out of his rage and looked around dazed and confused, "what happened?" Ash asked himself about his actions against Wrath, Ash looked down in shock as Wrath rested motionless, dead from the vicious assault from Ash, "did I do that?" Ash asked, he placed his hands over his head wondering what had happened.

"It wasn't your fault," Salvia tried to assure Ash.

Ash fell to the ground as he tried to regain his own confidence, "what did I do?!" Ash yelled out in anger.

Meanwhile in Hearthome City Dusk was walking towards the eastern side of the city, she paused as she sensed the dark aura coming from the west dissipate, "the fight is over," Dusk whispered, she continued on with her fists clenched in frustration, "damn you Ash, you are getting stronger," Dusk formed a ball of aura in her hands and sent it flying towards one of the trees in her vicinity.

Dusk continued through the town ignoring the angry cries of the people behind her, "hey you, who is going to pay for this mess you just made?" the male citizen asked the Aura Master.

Dusk stopped and glanced back with a smirk, "you are, I couldn't care less if a tree fell on you, let alone a part of what I hit destroying a house across the street," Dusk replied, but walked away from the angry member of society, hearing the yelling of the citizens of the major city, Dusk continued towards her destination, she walked with her right hand over her chin wondering what was going to happen next, 'Ash and Salvia are heading to Celestic Town,' Dusk thought as she remembered the words of her former allies.

"You know walking alone towards the next mission isn't something I would normally advice," a familiar male voice was heard from behind, Dusk glared back immediately recognising Greed, "I see you haven't changed much friend," Greed looked around to see some of the trees that were felled by the Aura Master.

"We've never been friends, so stop claiming that we're friends," Dusk hissed at the Shadow Lord.

"I can sense it another of my so called friends has been killed, Wrath, I guess my turn isn't far off after all," Greed started to chuckle.

Dusk glared at the Shadow Lord with a confused expression, "what do you mean?"

"When I am killed, I plan on making sure the Shadow Lords don't rise again, that is enough to repent from my own sins," Greed laughed confessing his own fate to Dusk, "what about you, what is your fate after this conflict ends?" asked the Shadow Lord with a serious tone, Dusk looked at the ground knowing that Greed was trying to help her.

Near Veilstone City Ash was helping his friend towards the city, his thoughts soon directed at the princess, "Salvia, did…..did I scare you?" Ash asked nervously, avoiding eye contact with the princess.

Helping her friend out, she glanced over to Ash who was visibly upset with himself, "no," Salvia didn't hesitate to answer.

"Liar," Ash retorted sadly, "did I hurt you?" Ash questioned the princess.

"No," Salvia replied as she waited for Ash to say something, but nothing was heard from the trainer.

Ash looked over to say something, but strangely no words emerged from his mouth, he tried to say something again, still no words sounded from the raven haired trainer.

Salvia kept her eyes on the dejected Ash, "you know Ash, it has been tough, but if you need someone to comfort you, I will be there for you, that I promise," the princess tried her best to reassure the hurting trainer, Ash nodded in reply but continued on without saying a word to the princess. Without a word Ash continued to help his injured friend, he glanced over to the princess with a guilt ridden expression, "please Ash, don't be sad," Salvia smiled at the trainer.

Paul with his arms around his friends noticed that Ash was hurting from his battle mentally, 'so Ash, you have found someone that will be there for you, I am certain Dawn would be happy for you,' Paul thought to himself with a smile.

'Come on Ash pick yourself up, I will be making sure that you find happiness,' Dawn's spirit appeared behind them, watch Ash and Salvia helping out Paul, 'Salvia, thanks for helping Ash, you really are a strong person,' Dawn vanished from the area with a smile on her face, 'I will see you both again really soon,' she promised Ash and Salvia of her own return.

**What is Dusk's answer to Greed? How will Ash master the growing power of his Aura? **

**Next time Chapter 21: Connections**

**This chapter is the beginning of the Aura Master Saga, before we head out to finish the story with the last saga, Downfall of the Shadow Lords saga, this saga will also provide an even bigger push in the relationship between Ash and Salvia, but they will remain oblivious to the attractions from the other.**

**well the good news is ladies and gents, starting this chapter we are going to start a marathon every chapter written every day, meaning that chapters 21-32 are on their way with chapters 33-37 being written as well as 38 coming up soon. Hope you all like the coming marathon. also following this story is Fracture and Ash and Hilda story.**


	21. Connections

**Chapter 21: Connections.**

_**Summary: **__Ash tries to come to grips with his loss of control over his dark aura, it will be up to Paul and Salvia to get him to snap out of his depression._

* * *

Three days after his fight with Wrath Ash silently sat at one of the tables in the Pokemon Centre, staring at his hands, he was still unable to say a word, Paul watched his friend who seemed like he was in shock after the events that unfolded in the fight against Wrath, 'those two need to sort things out now,' Paul thought about what had happened and started approaching Ash, "get up, we need to talk," Paul grabbed Ash by the collar forcing him to stand up.

"Come with me," Paul started dragging Ash away from the main foyer. The two friends walked passed the main counter and into the hallway containing the accommodation for the trainers, "while you have been quiet and remaining to yourself, the princess has been training to get stronger," Paul informed Ash, directing his friend to the room, he opened the door and pointed to Salvia who was asleep.

Ash stared at the young royal and noticed a bandage on her left arm, "she kept challenging me to a battle, she might have lost every time, but that didn't stop her, she also told me to not say why she was training," Paul stated while witnessing his friend walking into the room, 'it is because of you, she wants you to recognise her, not only that, she even told me not to tell you how much she loves you,' Paul thought to himself while Ash pushed Salvia's hair aside.

Ash stared at the sleeping princess and smiled at her, trying his best to say something, but not a sound could be heard, 'I might not be able to say a word at the moment, due to the most recent events, but I feel I am the worst person on the planet,' Ash thought to himself trying to figure out what was going on, Ash kept his eyes glued on the bluenette and smiled, 'at least you are making an effort, me, well I am screwing everything up,' Ash told himself trying to figure out who exactly he was.

Paul started walking away, "Ash, I challenge you to a battle," Paul challenged the trainer, but the challenge was ignored by the saddened aura guardian, "my pokemon have been through a lot of training, they will still easily defeat your pokemon," Paul tried to provoke Ash into battle, but the provocation wasn't phasing the young man, 'oh man, I don't want to resort to this, but if he ignores me…..' Paul clenched his fists, but still resisted the urge to use the taunt he didn't want to use, "since when did the hasty Ash Ketchum become a wimp?" Paul continued to taunt the trainer.

'No matter what I will ignore these taunts,' Ash continued to stare at the princess.

'Dawn, please forgive me for using you like this,' Paul closed his eyes with a hint of regret, "well I guess Dawn's sacrifice for a wimp was a wasted effort," Paul stated but still had a hint of disdain in his expression, he noticed his old rival angrily clenching his hands, 'well that seemed to work, this is stupid,' Paul started to complain, "I guess if Dawn saw you know, she would be really disappointed in the person she died for," Paul continued to push Ash into reacting.

'Damn you Paul, how dare you talk about Dawn like that,' Ash started shaking with anger.

'Come on you idiot react, I don't want to keep insulting Dawn like this,' Paul started hoping that his friend would react to him, "I guess with the lack of reaction from me insulting Dawn, you don't truly…." Paul started the sentence, before he could finish Ash pushed him into the wall and nodded, "so you accept my challenge," Paul smirked at his rival, 'I should have been punched a fair few times, but at least I don't have to continue with insulting my friend like that, I hope I don't resort to such cheap tactics ever again,' Paul berated himself, knowing full well that Ash was upset, knowing that he wasn't going to be easily forgiven by his two friends Paul walked away in shame of his own actions, 'I am sorry my friends,' Paul apologised quietly

Salvia who was resting on the bed with her eyes open watched Ash leaving the room, 'sorry Ash, I promised your rival that I wouldn't react,' Salvia waited for the door to close, she sat up and looked at her bandaged arm.

**(3 days prior)**

"Gardevoir, attack now with Psychic," Salvia ordered her pokemon, the white human shaped pokemon's eyes started to glow blue causing a blue aura to surround the opposing grass type pokemon.

"Not bad princess, but not good enough, Torterra, counter with Frenzy Plant," Paul commanded the continent pokemon to attack, letting out a powerful roar, vines emerged from the ground with Gardevoir as the target.

"Gardevoir use Double Team," Salvia panicked in her command, the psychic type pokemon split herself into multiple clones, the vines split into even more vines taking out every clone in the area, the real Gardevoir took the powerful hit, knocking her out of the battle, "again I lost," Salvia recalled her beaten pokemon, she turned to find that Ash was nowhere near the battlefield.

"I see you keep searching for him," Paul pointed out with a frown, he recalled his pokemon and followed up by searching for his former rival, "I know what you are going through, this isn't the same Ash I came to respect," Paul crossed his arms in dismay, he placed his left hand over his chin now deep in thought, "maybe I need to provoke Ash to some extent," Paul informed the young royal.

Salvia turned to her friend with a puzzled expression, "how are you going to do that?"

"No idea, but the only way I can do that, is if you promise not to get in the way and not to get upset by me insulting our friend," Paul notified the bluenette. He turned towards the Pokemon Centre and started approaching it, "you seem puzzled, if I have to…." Paul gulped knowing how upset both the princess and Ash will be, "I will use Dawn as the trigger," Paul told Salvia with a regretful expression.

"Why Dawn?" Salvia asked, but the question was ignored, she noticed the pained expression on her friend's face, 'oh right, Ash still loves Dawn,' Salvia lowered her gaze, thinking about her own feelings, she grew more determined with her own resolve, "I really want Ash to make me a better trainer," she whispered, taking her chance she watched the trees swaying in the breeze thinking about her own path, "I am going to get stronger, it might take me some time, but there is no way I will give up," Salvia promised herself switching her gaze to the medical facility and with her fists clenched she walked towards it, determined to keep getting stronger.

**(Present time)**

Ash was standing at the battlefield with Paul preparing to call out his pokemon for the battle, "Electivire standby for battle," Paul called for a large yellow pokemon with black stripes, powerful arms and two black tails appeared ready to battle the pokemon Ash was going to call out, "now don't hesitate, I am sick of seeing my friend beating himself up," Paul growled at the opposing trainer.

Ash grabbed the pokeball of choice, but was hesitant to call out the pokemon he wanted, he tried again, but instead of the pokemon that he was going to select Lucario jumped into the battle, surprising both the trainers, Lucario glared at the trainer and shook his head, "well Ash, it seems like even your Lucario isn't pleased with you," Paul stated with a smirk, the aura pokemon nodded at the purple haired trainer.

Lucario formed a blue bone staff as he prepared himself for the battle against the trainer, "Electivire attack now with Thunder Punch," Paul instructed his electric type pokemon, the two pokemon charged at one another, but Ash remained silent not calling for an attack, the two pokemon clashed with their attacks, the bone staff held up against the devastating Thunder Punch, sparks flew in every direction bringing down a wall that metres away from the battle.

Salvia rushed out to see the battle getting started, she quickly glanced over at Ash who wasn't commanding his pokemon, "come on Ash," Salvia whispered to herself, she remained inside knowing the danger of the battle between the two powerful trainers.

"Come on Ash, this isn't like you, command your pokemon!" Paul ordered his friend with growing frustration, "look over there, is this the type of person that gives other people the ability to hold their head high?" Paul pointed to the princess asking the rival trainer about his own resolve, but Ash remained silent not wanting to answer his friend's questions, "you were so ready to face me in battle when I was insulting Dawn, you want to know something?" Paul questioned his rival with a frown, "I am disappointed in you, you should have punched me for what I said," Paul started to grit his teeth as the trainer looked away.

Salvia walked outside while Paul was trying to get Ash to say something, "come on Ash, you need to pick yourself up, you helped me pick myself up," Salvia approached the battlefield not worrying about the danger that she was putting herself in.

"So you lack some courage, yet here is the princess putting herself in danger for you," Paul stated while he looked over to his pokemon, "Electivire use Dischage," Paul ordered his pokemon, the powerful pokemon unleashed a powerful blast of electricity which was heading towards the aura pokemon.

Salvia continued on as a stray bolt of electricity was heading towards her, Ash flashed back to when Dawn saved his life and without any form of hesitation he jumped in front of the royal protecting her from the blast, taking the electricity Ash screamed out in pain.

"Electivire stop the attack," Paul commanded his pokemon with a concerned tone, his pokemon ended the attack allowing Ash to fall to the ground, Paul witnessed Salvia helping the shaken trainer up, "you know Ash, when I was insulting Dawn, it was as a last resort, I needed to see what you were going to do, but it seems like you're showing signs of moving forward," Paul explained to the raven haired Aura guardian, he recalled his pokemon and started walking back to the Pokemon Centre.

Recalling his pokemon from the battle, Ash got up slowly and started making his way back to the medical facility, before entering Ash collapsed after taking the powerful attack, "Ash!" Salvia screamed out in disbelief.

Paul immediately turned around and assisted the princess in getting Ash inside, they made it to one of the rooms, "he is reckless," Paul chuckled as he exited the room.

Salvia kneeled down, placing her arms on the bed, "you protected me from the attack, even when it was an accident," Salvia whispered as the trainer remained unconscious, 'as quiet as I have been about my feelings for you, I feel like I am getting more confident in telling you,' Salvia thought to herself with a smile, resting her head on her arms she took a sidewards glance happily looking at the trainer, "I will stay here Ash, that will never change," she whispered before falling asleep.

Hours later Ash had awoken, taking a deep breath, "it seems like I have had two people help me recover," Ash whispered to himself, he slowly moved his right hand towards the princess who was still sleeping next to him. He moved the hair of the princess and proudly smiled at her, 'she is so beautiful,' Ash admired the royal, "I need to look after you, I have finally found the person I need to protect," the Aura Guardian pushed the bluenette's hair behind her ears.

Paul opened the door quickly noticing that Ash was looking at the princess in a more positive light, "it seems like you have come back," Paul told the trainer, Ash immediately removed his hand and shot up in shock, Pau;l started laughing at his friend as the princess started to wake up.

Salvia sat up and stepped back, "I am sorry Ash," she apologised for sleeping next to the trainer, her face turning a little red.

"It's fine, I was a little pathetic, you two reminded me what was important," Ash assured the princess before turning his gaze to Paul, "well I didn't expect you to resort to such cheap tactics," Ash remarked with a dissatisfied expression.

"Don't ever make me do that again you hear me?" Paul smirked at his former rival.

"Of course, I guess I was getting depressed because I was losing control of the dark aura," Ash explained his problems to his friend, he quickly turned ot the princess who was feeling a little more relieved that Ash was finally saying something, "Salvia," Ash called to her.

"Y-yes," answered back the princess.

"Before we head off to get to the Dark Aura Master, would you like to spend some time with me today? Walking around the city," Ash asked the royal as she gulped at the question being asked of her.

Hesitating for a moment she placed her hand over her mouth with Paul watching in the background, "I would love to Ash," she replied hiding her blush.

Salvia brushed pass the trainer at the door, excited for the first time, Paul turned to Ash and smiled at him, "just a few hours ago, you were depressed, now you're asking the princess out on a date," Paul teased his friend.

"I have put myself under so much pressure, so I need some time to relax," Ash informed the purple haired friend.

Salvia with her back to the wall started listening in on the conversation, "so Ash, here is a question for you," Salvia heard Paul putting Ash in the spotlight, "how do you really feel about the princess?" Paul questioned the trainer.

"That was random, why do you ask?" Ash questioned the Sinnoh based trainer.

"Come on, since you lost Dawn, you have failed to put two and two together," Paul started explaining to Ash who seemed more puzzled by the comments, "she courageously stopped you from doing something you might regret later, she cut her hair, she is even training to become a better trainer, have you asked yourself why she is doing that?" Paul continued to push the topic further implying something important to his friend.

"No I haven't asked myself those questions," Ash replied coldly, leaving Paul flabbergasted by his response, "what, is there something I need to know?" Ash asked his shocked friend.

Paul shrugged his shoulders and headed towards the exit of the room, "no, nothing at all my friend," he replied as he walked passed the flustered royal, 'she heard our conversation, man, both of them are as bad as the other,' Paul started complaining about his friend's attitudes towards the other, 'they clearly like each other more than friends, but I think they are too scared to admit it,' Paul explained to himself as he entered the main foyer of the Pokemon Centre.

**(2 hours later)**

Ash and Salvia were sitting in one of the restaurants enjoying a meal, they both looked out towards the southern route thinking about the fight against the Shadow Lords, "during your fight against Wrath I was really scared," Salvia admitted to Ash who was enjoying his bowl of pasta, Ash looked up puzzled with a stand of pasta hanging out of his mouth, upon seeing this Salvia giggled at the trainer, "you know Ash, you need to have a certain amount of table manners," Salvia pointed out, watching him slurp up the pasta.

"Yeah and what about you?" Ash questioned the royal with a cheeky grin.

Salvia picked up the spoon next to her plate of food and twirled the pasta with perfection, "I eat like a proper lady," Salvia retorted with a wink, she placed the pasta in her mouth without making a mess, "you on the other hand need to eat without making a mess," Salvia teased the young man as she took a serviette to clean Ash's face.

While cleaning his face Salvia almost fell over, Ash stopped her from falling making Salvia jump back a little, "sorry about that," Ash apologised as he grabbed the spoon and struggled to copy what Salvia had shown him, "wow this is harder than I anticipated," Ash commented as he managed to get it right much to the entertainment of the princess.

"After beating the Shadow Lords, what do you intend to do?" Salvia asked the trainer with a curious tone.

Ash dropped the cutlery and took a deep breath, "well I think I have said this before, I want to travel again," Ash answered the bluenette, he looked away yet again not wanting to make eye contact with the princess, "I would like for you to join me on my next journey," Ash requested the princess.

"On your next journey? I…..I might be busy, you know royal duties, I cannot abandon that," Salvia tried to come up with her excuse, 'I would love to travel with you, but I have something I want to tell you,' Salvia thought to herself, scared to bring her feelings to words.

Ash stared at the princess without her noticing, he scratched his head and noticed how the princess was thinking of his question, "you don't have to answer right away," Ash told the princess, he stood up and walked over to the front counter to pay for the meal.

After paying for the meal Ash and Salvia walked through the city, the two walked to a hill where they could witness the sunset, "I often did this with Dawn," Ash commented as the sky over the city started to change colour, Salvia sat down watching the buildings follow the colouring of the sky.

Salvia continued to watch with sad memories of what happened earlier in the struggle, "the last time I was here Ash, I was being chase by a person we thought was our enemy," Salvia told the trainer with a saddened tone, thinking back to when her father was killed by the Shadow Lords, "" I know how you feel when it comes to losing someone you love, I want revenge but I lack the strength to fulfil it," Salvia informed as, she grasped onto the grass covering the hill.

Ash watched the princess grabbing some blades of grass and releasing them into the wind, "you're wrong," Ash snapped at the princess, the young royal glanced back confused with Ash's sudden response, "being kind and gentle is not a weakness," Ash turned away to hide the redness on his face, "from what Paul told me, when you stepped in when I was in a rage, you did it knowing that you could get hurt, in order to stop me from doing something that I might regret later," Ash explained while sitting down to watch the moon rising over the horizon.

'If only he knew why I did it,' Salvia thought to herself she gulped trying to gather the courage she needed to say what was on her mind. The two sat back to back watching the night time start, Salvia watched as a streak crossed the sky, a shooting star this early in the night, 'I wish one day for the courage to tell Ash that I love him,' Salvia made her wish.

Ash noticed another star flying across the dark canvas, 'I lack the courage to tell her how I feel, I hope one day, I can tell Salvia,' Ash watched the start disappear from the sky.

Ash felt Salvia shivering as the cold started to creep in, Ash removed his jacket and placed it over Salvia's shoulders, "thanks Ash," Salvia gratefully told the trainer, she grasped at the jacket feeling warm again, 'this is how I feel when I am around Ash,' Salvia reminded herself, not caring about fearing his darker side.

'One day, when the time is right, I promise you Salvia, I will tell you, but for now, I will keep it quiet,' Ash told himself as he stood up, he extended his hand out to help Salvia up, she took his hand and stood up, the two gazed into each other's eyes, but before saying a word the two turned away, "let's head back for some sleep, tomorrow, we are heading to Celestic Town," Ash informed the royal, letting go of her hand.

Salvia feeling her heart racing, watched Ash leading the way, she looked at her hand and smiled, "that is the first time I took his hand," she whispered trying to contain her excitement, not wanting to let Ash hear her comment.

Ash continued on, staring at his right hand, "oh man, why am I so stupid? That was the time to tell her," he started to berate himself at not saying anything, to the princess, but the feeling of holding her hand put him at ease, 'thanks Salvia, after today, I am going to master dark aura,' Ash gratefully glimpsed over his left shoulder and smiled at his new love interest.

**(The Next Day)**

Paul stopped Ash from leaving the pokemon Centre, he glanced over his right shoulder, the bluenette waiting for the raven haired trainer, "listen Ash, second chances don't come often enough," Paul pointed his thumb at the young royal, "a friend doesn't react like they did, when she got hurt, you lost it completely even when I got hurt you still had some amount of control," Paul extended his right hand out.

"It is none of your business," Ash retorted as he extended his left hand out.

Shocked at the response Paul started laughing at the trainer, "you're quite an obvious person, you need to be more open my friend," Paul shook hands with Ash before allowing him to leave with Salvia walking next to him, 'your second chance at having someone is standing right next to you,' Paul thought to himself after noticing that Ash seemed a little nervous around the young woman.

"So Ash what did sir Paul talk you about?" Salvia asked the aura guardian.

Ash glanced back and then away towards the road heading away from the city, "nothing," Ash replied, he was quickly stopped by Salvia who closed the distance between them, she tilted her head causing Ash to start blushing, "what is it?" Ash grew more uneasy with Salvia standing close to him.

"It seems like you're a little uneasy, what's the matter?" Salvia asked the aura guardian.

Ash stepped back trying his best to hide his redness, "nothing, nothing at all," Ash waved his hands in front of his face.

Salvia lowered her vision and turned away, 'yeah just as I thought, there is no way he could possibly like me in that manner,' Salvia thought while following the road.

'Oh man that was close, but it isn't like she feels the same way I do,' Ash took a deep breathe, still not noticing some of the obvious hints that the princess was starting to convey, 'plus I don't want those bastards using them to get to Salvia, I am scared that she might get hurt,' Ash continued to stare at the princess, he walked behind her.

Standing in one of the alleyways a person was watching what was unfolding, 'gees you two say something,' the person continued to get a glimpse of the two people, 'it isn't like they can see me, but once you realise that you need to go forward Ash, I can finally crossover,' the spirit looked over at the trainer, revealing herself to be Dawn, 'come on Ash, my mission before I truly leave you is to make sure that you find happiness,' Dawn stated with a smile.

'Come on Dawn, your time is running out,' another female voice called to the bluenette.

'Not now mom, I still have unfinished business, so please wait with Delia, Piplup and Pikachu,' Dawn instructed her mother before walking towards Ash and the princess wanting to keep an eye on them, 'Ash, you can no longer hide it from me, over the last few weeks your feelings for Salvia has grown, but then again so has Salvia's feelings for you, sadly you both are hiding it from each other,' Dawn explained to herself after her observations.

* * *

**With the fight against the Dark Aura Masters about to get started, it will be up to Ash to master the dark aura within.**

**Next time chapter 22: Between Light and Darkness**

**Would like to know what you all think so far, I am heading to the end of the story as well, (in terms of writing it) **


	22. Between Light and Darkness

**Chapter 22: Between Light and Darkness.**

_**Summary: **__Ash starts his training undaunted by the darkness within, will he succeed? And what will be the result of his success?_

* * *

Ash and Salvia entered the route heading towards Solaceon Town, the pokemon flying overhead with Bidoof running in the grassy fields, Aipoms swinging from tree to tree, leaving the two a amazed at the sight of the numerous pokemon that inhabited the area, "it was nothing like this when I was here last," Salvia confessed with a broad smile, the bluenette happily waltzed through the fields as the pokemon ran away from her in fear.

"You know, rushing into the fields can upset the pokemon," Ash informed the princess who was happy to see the pokemon frolicking around. Scratching his head, he started to wonder more about the dark aura that had taken hold in the past, 'I don't want to scare or hurt her,' Ash thought as he raised his right hand, he concentrated some aura into his hand and formed a bright blue sphere.

Salvia witnessed Ash forming the aura in the palm of his hands and grew curious, approaching the trainer she placed her left hand over the sphere, "so what are you thinking?" she asked the young man.

"I need to conquer my darkness," Ash quickly reminded the princess of his own personal battle.

"Conquer your darkness?" Salvia raised the question with a bewildered expression, "what do you mean?" she asked the raven haired trainer.

"If I don't conquer this darkness, people are going to get hurt," Ash answered the question, he allowed for the sphere of aura to dissipate, clenching his fists, 'most of all I don't want you getting hurt,' Ash thought to himself, immediately thinking of Salvia and what had happened in the last fight with the Shadow Lords.

"You don't to pressure yourself," Salvia tried her best to reason with Ash.

Ash stopped walking and clenched his fists, "you're wrong, I cannot run away from this, the darkness will be there, but I need to make it useful to me, not something that will hurt others," Ash argued with the bluenette.

"Are you scared of what might happen?" the princess asked the Kanto native, before she could get an answer she noticed that Ash was shaking, she immediately recognised that Ash was fearful of what might happen, 'I see, he doesn't want the darkness to rule his life,' Salvia thought, taking into consideration of what had happened while her and Ash were fighting against the Shadow Lords.

The sound of the pokemon flying overhead caused Ash to think more about his control over his aura, "even if I manage to conquer it, I still will not have all the experience to control it," Ash whispered, loud enough for the concerned princess to hear it.

"Dusk said that even if she managed to gain control of herself, she still has a difficult time controlling the dark aura," Salvia informed Ash, she watched Ash trying to call for the dark power, 'he might be trying too hard,' Salvia noticed the strained expression on Ash's face. The blue haired royal wanted to intervene but knew that it was something that Ash needed to combat on his own, "um…Ash, if you need help, I will be here for you," Salvia encouraged Ash in his endeavour.

Ash nodded as he started to focus his aura, "thanks princess," Ash replied softly.

**(Near Celestic Town)**

A woman with long brown hair, red eyes, wearing a blue dress and a white blouse with black boots5 appeared from the cave awaiting her teammates, "so, things are about to get started, Shade and Hollow better hurry up," she said with a smirk, she looked over to the distance, sensing a powerful aura coming from miles away, 'again, he is at it this time he seeks to control the Dark Aura,' she thought to herself as she turned to see the summit of Mount Coronet, "space, time and darkness, will soon be in Pride's control," she whispered.

Shade and Hollow walked into the small town, they glanced back knowing that Ash was on his own personal mission to control his darkness better, "it seems like he is training to get a better grasp on his inner darkness," Hollow whispered, feeling the sweat running down his forehead.

Shade chuckled at the trainer trying to fulfil his own goal, "doesn't matter, he can control himself, but Dark Aura is difficult to control even for veterans," Shade replied quickly, he shot his vision over to the cave spotting the true female member of the Dark Aura Masters, "Willow, it seems like Dusk and Ash are on their way here," Shade informed the brunette of the coming battle.

"What of the princess?" Willow asked the two male members.

"Knowing her, she will be at Ash's side," Hollow stated as he remembered the first fight with Ash.

Willow laughed at the situation, feeling like everything was going the way she had wanted it to go, "good, now you two, go up to Mount Coronet, I am going to say hello to our guests," Willow walked towards the town entrance while sense the growing aura from Ash, 'so, he plans on taking his aura control to another level, this game could get interesting,' Willow thought as she walked into the thick fog that blanketed the fields and the lake front.

**(Solaceon Town)**

Greed entered the town with his thoughts placed firmly on the plans to save Sinnoh, "Hilda and Hilbert, I know you two are here as well," Greed looked over at the tower, seeing his Unova friends, he noticed the concerned face of Hilda who was looking to the north east, 'something is up,' Greed noted to himself.

"Greed, I am concerned about Ash, I can sense that he wants to utilise his Dark Aura, I never foresaw that," Hilda stated while visibly shaking from her vision, 'I cannot tell them yet, Ash, will get stronger, but he does need that Dark Aura, but I am scared that he will lose control again,' Hilda thought about the situation with her friend.

"Greed what about our other friend?" Hilbert asked the Shadow Lord.

Dusk walked up to Hilbert her hands on her hips, "I am not your friend, nor am I Ash's, Salvia's, Hilda's and especially yours Greed, I am here to warn you not to get close to Ash," Dusk informed the trio, she looked over her right shoulder, sensing the powerful aura emanating from Ash, 'if he loses control he will hurt his friends, wouldn't want him to regret anything before I kill him,' Dusk turned away from the people she denied her friendship to.

"Wait Dusk," Hilda stopped the bluenette.

Dusk halted and glared at the brunette, "I am in a hurry, I need to get to Celestic Town," Dusk snapped at the Unova Queen.

"I need to know, what is this dark aura about?" Hilda asked the Aura Master.

Dusk with her fists shaking, but soon burst into laughter, "it is the darkness of a person, darkness turned into aura, I sensed it a while ago in Ash, in fact I think before he came here, he had some experience in this dark aura," Dusk answered the question, it was almost time for her to continue her move towards Celestic Town, 'it isn't like he will be out of control for long, after all he has the princess there,' Dusk thought to herself thinking about the strengthening bond between the two.

"I also sense that Salvia is there as well," Hilda stated with even more concern for her friend.

"Yes, I know, but I don't hold any concerns for her, she will be fine," Dusk replied as she watched the brunette rushing up to her.

Grabbing her collar, she shook the Aura Master with tears, "how can you say that?" Hilda asked angrily.

"Because, it will be the princess that helps Ash regain his senses while he is trying to gain control of this power," Greed immediately answered his friend.

Dusk forcibly pushed Hilda away from her, "do that again I will break your arms," Dusk threatened the Unova queen, she quickly looked over to Greed as the brunette stepped back in fear, "plus our friendly Shadow Lord is right, it will be Salvia that can help Ash," Dusk informed the others, a confident smile.

"So we are just going to let Ash rampage and hurt the princess, why?!" Hilbert asked the Aura Master, he was now uncertain as to how he could help.

"Simple, you would just get in the way," Dusk answered back, showing her own form of confidence in Ash and Salvia, 'it isn't like those idiots can help in anyway,' Dusk thought to herself, she looked up towards the sky to see the panicked Starlys and Staravias, "I am out of here," Dusk remarked as she walked away from the trio of friends.

"So we can do nothing, so we just stand here and let Salvia get hurt," Hilda fell to the ground angry at her own inability to do anything.

"She will be fine, even if Ash loses control, he still will not hurt her in any way," Dusk answered as she walked towards the northern part of the town.

Greed walked up to the royal couple, "you two go to Ash and Salvia, I will go with Dusk and make sure the Dark Aura Masters don't do too much damage," Greed instructed the Unova duo. Greed started following the Aura Master as the Unova couple rushed off, east of the town and towards the area of concern.

Meanwhile Ash was surrounded by a black aura, he was trying to get control of the aura, but wasn't getting any better, Salvia tried to encourage him to but she was soon blown off her feet by the exploding aura. On her back she sat up and watched the black and blue aura flying in every direction, 'wow, this is Ash's aura,' Salvia gulped as she watched Ash looking west of where they were, 'what did he sense?' she asked herself, before she realised what was happening Ash ran off in search for the people who were walking towards the area.

"Enemies are coming here," Ash stated in a blood thirsty tone, he ran off to greet them.

Salvia jumped to her feet and started to chase after Ash, "foes? But that means that he might see one of our friends as enemies," Salvia immediately assumed the problem, she continued her chase and noticed two familiar people in the area, Ash heading in their direction, "Ash, stop, they're our friends," Salvia tried to reason with Ash, but her voice wasn't reaching him.

In his subconscious Ash noticed his two friends that were being put in danger by the darkness that had taken control, 'no I need to stop,' Ash tried to gain control over the darkness.

"Destroy everything, everything that hurts you," a voice played in his mind.

Ash looked around to find out where that voice was coming from, 'no, I cannot hurt my friends,' Ash tried arguing with the voice, it wasn't long before Ash was confronted with an image of his darker self, a menacing grin across his face, he stepped back gasping at what he had seen, 'you, you're me,' Ash announced in shock.

"Exactly, I am the darkness that haunts you," the look alike informed the trainer.

"No that isn't right," Ash tried to deny it, but the darker Ash started laughing at him, 'what's going on?' Ash asked himself wanting to figure out why someone looking like him was in his own subconscious.

"You want answers? Well it is simple, you let your fiancé die because you are weak," the Dark part of Ash grinned menacingly, causing the real Ash to fall back with a mortified expression.

'No, not this again,' Ash clutched his head in horror, but the images of Dawn dying in his arms played back around him, 'what do you want from me?' Ash asked the menacing spirit.

"Simple, you to give into your anger and destroy anything that hurts you," the other part of Ash pointed out, he then pointed to an image of the princess, "including her."

Ash turned to see Salvia rushing towards him, "why?" Ash expressed his shock at the idea of hurting the princess.

"She is the reason why you are hurting you fool, she looks like her and was the reason why you are in this struggle," the darkness reminded Ash, but noticed the resistance flowing from the trainer, "you fell for a trap because she wanted to selfishly save her father," the mental attack continued on Ash.

Ash fell to his knees and clutched his head, 'No, that's not true, I needed to save the king,' Ash argued with his darker self.

"Yet you failed because she is too weak," the darkness continued to torment Ash. "she doesn't care about you, only a way to save her kingdom," Ash's opposite continued to inform Ash of the royal's mission.

Ash quickly go to his feet, glaring at his dark counterpart, "let me guess, I am also to blame for Dawn's death as well as my mother, Johanna, Piplup and my partner pokemon?" Ash questioned the shadowy figure.

"Yes if you had taken the other part of your power that would never have happened," Ash's darkness informed the trainer.

"Well that is why I am here, to prevent that from happening," Ash answered back, his resolve coming back.

Salvia watched the trainer frozen on the spot, perplexed by his lack of movement, "Ash, are you alright?" Salvia asked in concern, but not a single word was heard form Ash, he remained silent, she placed her right hand on her shoulder, but was quickly pushed away, she watched Ash turn towards her, his eyes darkened, she gulped at the intimidating sight, 'oh no, Ash it's me Salvia," the princess tried to plead with the trainer.

'She is the one holding you back,' the voice echoed in Ash's mind, before Ash could react, the dark presence overtook him and gain control over Ash, 'unlike the previous times, I will make sure you remember what happens here,' the voice stated his sickening intent to kill the last remaining Sinnoh Royal.

Shaking in anger Ash turned his attention to Salvia, not even recognising her, she tried calling out to him, but the calls were ignored by the blind anger of the Aura Guardian, "no one cares about me, everyone will suffer!" Ash yelled out forcing the princess to step back as fear continued to pulsate through her body.

"Ash, don't let this darkness control you," Salvia pleaded with the trainer, before she could finish her sentence Ash grabbed her throat making her grab his hand, "no Ash, I am here for you," Salvia started to fade as the aura started to burn her neck.

"No one is here for me, there is no point in trying to trick me," Ash snapped at the royal, but was soon hesitant when he noticed the genuine concern in her eyes, his grip weakened.

Salvia was soon free from the grip and quickly embraced Ash, "don't give up Ash," Salvia buried her head into the angry man's chest, tears rolling down her face, "you're my best friend, I don't want anything bad to happen to you," Salvia tried to comfort Ash while he was trying to pry himself free of the royal's hug, "it's no use, I will help you no matter what," Salvia kept telling the furious Ash.

'Wait, what am I doing?' Ash asked himself, he looked down as the dark Aura started to change colour yet again, 'I remember, I was trying to gain control of my dark aura,' Ash quickly remembered what was happening, he looked down now feeling more composed than he was moments ago, he looked around to see that part of the route was destroyed by his outrage, "Salvia, I am sorry," Ash apologised as he returned the embrace of the princess.

Back in his subconscious Ash emerged as his darker part was laughing at the young man, "so you also prove soft," the darkness started to insult Ash, Ash took the chance to rush up to him and grabbed him by the throat.

"No way, I will never hurt Salvia," Ash lifted his darker self up off the ground and glaring at him with the intent to win, "this dark aura belongs to me, not you," Ash informed the figure as he threw him on the ground.

"So you don't mind having that weak, soft hearted woman getting in the way," Ash's darkness started to question the judgement of the trainer.

Ash glanced back and smiled at the princess' image, "no, I don't mind her being around," Ash confessed while a bright light started to illuminated the area, causing the darkness that surrounded the two to vanish, leaving an area that was half dark and half light, empty with only two people in the subconscious of Ash, "but there is no room for you," Ash stated while approaching the darkness.

"Stay away from me," he demanded, but Ash raised his left hand extending it out towards the enemy, in shock the darkness flinched for a moment wondering what was really happening.

"I have no intentions of falling into darkness again, I only did it today so I can conquer it," Ash stated with a smile, he grabbed the right arm of the dark being helping him up, "that is something I have done, you have no power over me," Ash commented causing the shadowy figure to start crying.

"I hate you, you bastard!" the figure turned away, angry at Ash who watched him walking away,

Standing in the distance Dusk was watching Ash now more composed, "so Ash, you finally master the dark aura, well, that now means you're now an Aura Master like myself," Dusk smirked at her comrade, "this makes it more interesting, makes it worth my effort to destroy you later," Dusk laughed at the new Aura Master.

'She is your weakness, destroy her,' the darker part of Ash ordered the young man.

Ash stood his ground and glared at the darkness, 'no, I already told you, you have no control over me,' Ash snapped back with a confident smile, he walked up to the darkness and grabbed him by the collar, 'you think you can control me, no, I control the darkness, I will go forward without fear, because I have light now, her name is Salvia,' Ash explained his new found strength to the dark part of him.

'This isn't the end, when you least expect it, I will take control of you,' the darkness of Ash soon vanished as light began to pour in causing the darkness within Ash to finally vanish.

"I don't think so, as long as I have Salvia with me, you will not get any more chances, because she is now everything to me, my light in the darkness," Ash reminded the darkness as he looked back to see Salvia staring at him. Ash looked away now feeling a little more flustered by the presence of the bluenette, 'oh man, now I feel much calmer,' Ash thought to himself, breathing a sigh of relief after his battle against the darkness, but he was also unsure of how he could keep a hold of his new found light.

Ash turned towards a large boulder and placed his right hand on it, "let's try something," Ash stepped back a few steps and raised his right hand, he focused his new dark aura this time maintaining a greater degree of control, a purple sphere formed in his hand, he pushed the powerful orb right into the rock causing it to explode.

"He doesn't have full control of his dark aura, not yet, but he can now use his darkness to stand more of a chance against the more powerful foes," Salvia noted as the trainer turned towards the princess and smiled at herm clenching his fist in pride at his new achievement.

Ash created another ball of aura this time with blue colourations, "I no longer fear the darkness, because there is someone providing me the light I need to go forward," Ash confessed his new found confidence to the princess, he avoided looking back and started walking forward, 'how can I say that she is the one providing me that light?' Ash asked himself.

Greed watched as his friend led the way, noticing how Ash was hiding something, "come on Ash admit it already, she is your light," Greed started laughing at the new Aura Master.

"Oh and by the way, why is Hilda and Hilbert near Ash and Salvia? I told them they would get in the way," Dusk hissed at the Shadow Lord, displeased with the intervention of the Unova Royals, 'but it doesn't matter, just as long as Ash, manages to conquer part of his darkness,' Dusk thought to herself as she glanced at the tree lined route to the east, seeing Hilbert and Hilda approaching their friends.

Ash looked up to see his allies walking towards the fog covered route, a more positive expression, he looked back and smiled at the princess, his face turning slightly red, "Salvia, I don't want you leaving my side," Ash informed the royal.

Salvia now puzzled by what Ash was saying, "what are you talking about Ash?" Salvia asked the new Aura Master.

"Nothing, just thinking out loud," Ash replied, he turned away and started scratching his head, 'man, what was I thinking by saying that?' he asked himself, unsure of his own words, Ash peeked back at the princess, 'I am a fool, I get lost after Dawn's death being played back in my memories,' Ash stared to berate himself, he looked away, 'and now I find that I am falling in love with Salvia, someone who looks like Dawn,' Ash clenched his fists, frustrated in his own feelings.

"Ash, are you alright?" Salvia asked the Aura Master.

Ash nodded and continued towards the road towards the next fight, "yeah, I am fine, nothing to worry about," Ash lied, but tried to hide it with the best of his ability, 'damn, now I am lying to the princess,' Ash grew more frustrated at himself, 'of course there is something,' Ash told himself, but as he was about to say something to the royal she felt her left hand tap him on the back.

Salvia walked passed Ash and smiled, "come on Ash, time to continue our mission to save the world," a confident princess reminded him. She started humming a few notes pleased that Ash was able to keep true to himself, she peered back without Ash noticing, 'today, I felt like I was able to help you conquer the darkness that was holding you back,' Salvia told herself as she looked away, she looked at her friends who were a distance away from them, she placed her hand over her heart and exhaled in a comforted manner, 'I am also thinking that Dawn made sure nothing happened to him, thank you Lady Dawn,' Salvia thought to herself.

"Yeah, no point looking back, we have a future to fight for," Ash replied happily, 'when did it all change? When did I fall in love with Salvia? Or did it happen over time? I don't think I will ever find the answer,' Ash kept telling himself, he looked up, seeing that she was leading the way, unaware that Ash was staring at her, 'when did I take notice?' Ash kept asking more and more questions of his own feelings, 'there is no doubt, Dawn, I have found someone I want to share my life with, but the only thing that is holding me back is uncertainty,' Ash held back his laughter which seemed more directed at himself.

Walking to their next mission, Salvia and Ash caught up to their friends from another region, "yo Ash, Salvia, it has been a while," Hilbert called to his friends, he noticed the almost awkward air between the two, "so you two, did something happen?" Hilbert asked his two friends.

"Nothing but conquering my darkness," Ash answered back with pride, glancing back to Salvia then a way again, he gulped for a moment and scratched his head with a pleased expression, "also I found someone who can illuminate the darkness for me," Ash confessed but was too embarrassed to state who it was.

Hilda approached her friend, her left hand over her mouth, giggling at the trainer, "who is it Ash, could it be?" she started before Ash placed his hand over her mouth.

Ash peered again this time with both his friends watching, "quiet Hilda," Ash whispered with displeasure.

"Oh come on Ash, it isn't like it's a problem Ash," Hilbert tried to convince his friend in telling them who he was referring to.

"Oh come on you two, leave Ash alone," Salvia demanded of her friends, the two watched Ash proudly smile at the princess.

They jumped back and started whispering to one another, fixated on Ash and Salvia, "so Hilda, it seems like there is something happening between those two," Hilbert whispered, while the two friends watched in a puzzled manner.

"Yeah, they are both oblivious to one another's feelings for each other," agreed the brunette, noticing how Ash was looking back at the princess then looking away when she looked up at him, "those two are in love, but they are too scared to admit it," Hilda informed her husband with a cheeky grin.

* * *

**Ash and Salvia head towards the trials that will draw them closer together, what challenge will those two face.**

**Next up, Chapter 23: Convergence of the storm**

**Followed by a five part mini-saga, trials of time, space and darkness.**


	23. Convergence of the Storm

**Chapter 23: Convergence of the Storm.**

_**Summary: **__heading towards the final confrontation with the Dark Aura Masters Ash, Salvia and their friends from Unova convene on Celesitc Town only to meet up with Willow._

* * *

Ash, Salvia, Hilda and Hilbert continued to their destination, the weather remained calm with no signs of rain, the skies were clear with the flying type pokemon resting on the fields, with the wild ground based pokemon grazing in the fields, the girls walked a head leaving Ash and Hilbert to stand alone, "Ash, can I have a word with you?" Hilbert asked his raven haired friend with a serious tone.

Ash looked at the princess who was talking to the brunette, "what is it?" he asked cautiously.

Hilbert stood next to his friend, watching the women talking, "about you and the princess," Hilbert started but was ignored by Ash who walked ahead, "you can't hide it from your friends forever, in fact I don't think you can hide from Salvia either," Hilbert informed Ash, Ash stopped and glanced back to his friend from Unova, "Greed, Dusk and my wife know about it," Hilbert claimed, Ash lowered his gaze and took a deep breath, "what's the matter my friend?" Hilbert asked the trainer.

Ash chuckled as he took a quick peek at the princess, "she is way too good for me, what makes you think that she would ever be in love with me?" Ash asked the king from Unova.

Hilbert shrugged his shoulders and started to shake his head in disbelief, "you know, I might as well, let you discover things for yourself," Hilbert complained while Ash watched his friend walked towards the two girls.

'Please mind your own business,' Ash thought to himself, he stepped back to watch Salvia, feeding the wild pokemon the wild berries, "how long is before we can know peace in our lives?" Ash asked himself, he felt the wind pick, sensing the presence of another being, he looked around and found that no one was around apart from his friends and the princess, 'odd, I sensed an aura that I have felt in four months,' Ash told himself, turning away from where he sensed the aura.

"Ash, we are going now," Salvia called out, brimming with confidence.

'Yeah, I cannot dwell on the past forever, I need to keep moving forward,' Ash kept telling himself, but still wondering what would happen next with his inner darkness, 'it seems like I still need to conquer it, but I wonder, what would happen if he surfaces again?' Ash questioned himself, trying to come up with a solution to his situation.

Without warning the princess jumped in front of him, catching Ash off guard, "what are you thinking about this time?" She asked him.

"N-nothing, I am just wondering what the Dark Aura Masters are planning," Ash lied to the princess, attracting her suspicion, "yeah that's it," Ash tried to hide his shame.

"Sure Ash, you're lying, I can hear in your voice," the bluenette crossed her arms in disappointment, she turned away, causing Ash to rethink his approach, "you know, you can tell what is bothering you, don't hide it from me," Salvia started to berate the trainer.

'She picked up I was lying, she really is amazing,' Ash told himself, he followed the princess, feeling guilty about his lie.

Walking through the fields until they made it to the road heading towards Celestic Town, Ash glanced back wondering about the aura he had sensed. The group walked up to the area where the fog was bordering the route, a serious expression soon crossed Ash's face, "guys I sense another powerful aura," Ash announced as the group turned their attention to him.

"Another powerful person?" Hilbert asked himself, knowing that Ash wasn't lying this time, he looked towards the growing thickness of the fog, "so it seems like we're are heading into a situation blindly," Hilbert placed his hand on his chin.

Salvia approached Ash and tapped him on the shoulder, "you're joking this time, aren't you?" she asked him, but noticed his expression becoming more serious.

"Not only am I serious, we might end up getting separated, so we need to stay close," Ash informed the other three people, he walked in first, with the princess following closely then followed by the Unova royals.

Staying close to Ash, Salvia walked next to him, not wanting to lose him, she looked back to discover that her friends had quickly vanished from her limited range of sight, "um Ash, it seems like Hilda and Hilbert aren't here," Salvia pointed out with a panicked tone.

"Damn they accidently took a different road," Ash hissed, he scared the area with his eyes glowing blue. He lowered his vision and slowly moved his left hand towards the princess' right hand, hesitating, "um…Salvia, we might get separated, so I was thinking that we should…" Ash tried to finish his sentence.

Salvia's face started turning a little red, wanting to say something, but the words would not emerge from her mouth, her right hand moved grabbing Ash, "I don't want to get lost, so I will take your hand until we make it to the next town," Salvia stated, the two walked silently towards the town on their own with Ash using his sharper sense of sight to follow the road, the air started to get colder.

Ash felt the princess' hand shaking from the cold, he looked out the corner of his eyes and noticed the bluenette, Ash let go of Salvia's hand and removed his jacket, he handed it over to the princess, but she stared at it for a moment, "I don't want you getting sick," Ash stated fondly of the young royal.

Ash placed his jacket around the princess and grabbed the hand of the princess, "let's keep going," Ash suggested.

Salvia now feeling a little embarrassed by the actions of Ash, continued on in silence, she looked up and noticed the aura surrounding Ash, she felt the aura hitting her hand, "thank you," Salvia thanked the trainer quietly.

The hours passed, Ash and Salvia finally met up with the lost Hilda and Hilbert, they looked down at their friends, seeing that they were holding hands, "so, now you're holding hands?" Hilda asked the duo, to which they quickly let go, they looked away.

"So where were you?" Ash tried his best to change the subject.

Hilbert started to chuckle and scratched the back of his head, "well you know, we both got a little lost," Hilbert confessed with a hint of humiliation.

"You still sensing the aura?" the brunette asked the Aura Master.

Ash lowered his head and nodded, "I now sense two, the other one I know that aura, but the first one I was sensing is a strange one," he answered the Unova queen, he scanned the area again and took a deep breath, "the other one is a cold, dark aura," Ash stated much to everyone's displeasure.

"Not bad for a new Aura Master," A female voice called out to the trainer, she emerged from the thick blanket of fog, a smirk running across her face, she looked around to find herself outnumbered, "I see, so here we have a princess, the new king and queen of Unova and of course the Aura Master," the woman crossed her arms amused at the sight was in front of her. She glanced up at Ash who was trying to figure out who this woman was, "oh sorry, where are my manners?" She asked herself with a sense of sarcasm.

"Where is Shade and Hollow?" Ash questioned the Dark Aura Master.

"Easy, maybe you need to know exactly who you're dealing with," the brunette informed Ash. She started walking around the four people, "my name is Willow, a Dark Aura Master, not like that gullible moron named Dusk," the woman known as Willow stated with a smirk, almost proud of her deception of Dusk, she continued to circle the group.

Ash raised his arm up to prevent Willow from getting closer to the princess, he glared at her as she stopped in front of the group, "what reason are you here for?" Ash asked the woman coldly.

"Oh come on, don't be like that, I am here to see my enemies, who they are and what would be the best way to kill them," Willow announced her intentions to Ash and the rest of the group, she looked up to the princess who remained calm, "seems like you still lived after the situation in Pastoria City," Willow directed her words at the young royal.

"You knew what was going on?" Salvia asked the enemy with a frown.

Willow started laughing at the question and turned away, "of course, Pride and I are allies after all, you see, Pride has been planning the rise of his own kingdom," Willow informed the quartet.

Ash clenched his fists, "so then what about Dusk?" Ash asked the brown haired Aura Master.

"Her? Well, she is a remnant after all," Willow answered the Aura Master.

Ash watched as the powerful enemy started walking away, "wait!" Ash called out to her, Willow stopped while Ash glared at the enemy, "what do you mean by Dusk being a remnant?" Ash asked the Dark Aura Master.

"Well, that doesn't concern you," Willow replied, a smirk crossed her face as she vanished in the thick fog.

"I asked you a question!" Ash yelled out, getting the urge to chase after his quarrel, "now I need an answer!" Ash demanded, chasing after the Dark Aura Master, he looked around, but discovered that she was nowhere to be found, "what the hell was she talking about?" Ash whispered to himself, now feeling like he was missing a piece of the puzzle.

Hilbert rushed up to Ash with the women closely following him, "don't run off like that," Hilbert criticized Ash for his actions, 'idiot, Salvia was here and all you think about was Dusk being this remnant,' Hilbert thought to himself, glancing back to the princess who was looking at the ground with a hint of sadness.

"Alright we better head to Celestic Town, it isn't far away," Ash noted leading the other three towards the small town.

Hilda glanced at the princess with a smile, "don't give up, you will soon find the courage you need to tell him," Hilda reminded her friend, she looked up at the raven haired trainer, "giving up isn't an option, you need to make sure he is happy and isn't going to throw away his life out of revenge for something outside his own control," Hilda explained to the blue haired princess, walking ahead of her making her think about her own lack of courage.

Meanwhile at Mount Coronet Shade and Hollow were entering the cave that lead to the Sky Pillar, their missions still defined by the intentions of the last remaining Shadow Lords, "so Hollow once Pride takes over this crappy world, what are you going to do?" Shade asked his friend.

"Me? Well I am going to crush the Kanto region, that filthy Aura Master is from that region," Hollow informed his ally.

Shade started laughing at the idea that was being told to him, he looked up towards the cave, "me it is simple, since I have ambition, I am going to kill pride than reshape this world in my ideals," Shade replied to his friend's goals. The two continued their journey through the caverns, their thoughts back to their ally who was more than likely back in Celestic Town, "but for now, working with Pride is the only way we can achieve our goals," Shade stated with a smirk, 'as for you Willow, when the Aura Masters are defeated, a blade of steel will be hanging out of your back,' Shade held back his laughter.

Willow walked towards the town waiting for the four friends, she looked towards the southern route of the town and smiled, 'she is also almost here, along with the traitor,' Willow thought, almost enjoying the convening of the two groups to the small town.

"So, you want to play games," a female voice rung through the air, all of a sudden a blue haired woman landed in front of her, creating a crater raising dust into the air, Willow had jumped back before impact, the dust started settling with Dusk glaring at her enemy, "my name is Dusk, your worst nightmare."

"Oh so you're the Aura Master, nice to meet you," Willow smirked at her foe, almost taunting her to attack, "but now is not the time to fight, which will be at mount Coronet," Willow started walking away from the Aura Master.

"Wait, don't run away from me you coward," Dusk called out, but the Dark Aura Master ignored her and continued to leave the bluenette displeased with the actions of her enemy, "I hate her," Dusk growled, she turned around to see Greed entering the town, "What took you so long?" she asked furiously, trying to hold back from using her anger on the Shadow Lord.

Greed scanned the small town and smiled, "well it seems like we will be heading to Mount Coronet," Greed stated, he grew concerned about the other group, Greed walked further into town and noticed that only a few people were walking around, 'the last time I was here, there was more people,' Greed noted the change in the dynamics of the town.

Dusk started to investigate the small town, the streets seemed empty with only a few people walking around, the lights in the houses were off and the silence almost haunting, 'the aura here, the people with this aura aren't in the town,' she started thinking about the missing people, her vision soon switched to the mountains, her expression serious, but gained a sense of knowing what was happening, "they are at Mount Coronet," she whispered to herself.

Dusk turned around to see Ash, Salvia and their friends from Unova making their entrance into the small town, "so you two made it here as well," Ash called to his friends.

Dusk slowly walked up to Ash, "you," she pointed at the Aura Master.

Ash gulped feeling like Dusk was still holding her grudge against Ash, "me?" Ash answered, but couldn't help but gain a sense of uneasiness towards Ash.

"What happened? Right now, you are in control of part of the dark aura," Dusk growled at the raven haired man, she circled the Pallet Town native, "you still aren't in control of your inner darkness," she mocked the Aura Master.

"Don't you have anything nice to say to Ash?" Hilda asked the bluenette, but was ignored by Salvia's doppelganger.

Dusk turned towards the princess, "so you cut your hair because things didn't go the way you wanted it to go?" Dusk asked the young royal, moving her right hand towards Salvia's shortened blue hair. Before getting an answer Dusk walked away from the group and towards the empty streets of Celestic Town, "I don't have the time to mock you two, I am heading to Mount Coronet," Dusk started heading off without getting the response.

Greed watched the young woman walking off, "you know, she might not like to admit it, but she is envious of you both," Greed informed Ash and Salvia with a chuckle. But as the feeling started to become a little more light hearted, Greed noticed the serious expression of Ash and Hilda, "as you two know, something is wrong, almost everyone in this town is missing, Dusk said they are at Mount Coronet," Greed explained the situation to the group of four.

"I have been here for a few days, and have watched a number of people heading to the mountain," a male voice from one of the alleyways stated, he emerged from the alleyway, revealing himself to be the former rival of Ash, "what took you so long?" Paul asked the trainer, then turning his attention to Hilda and Hilbert, his gaze was soon fixed on the mountain, "I have heard rumours that this has been happening for the last few weeks, I don't feel so good about this, something more sinister is going on," Paul kept his eyes fixated on the intimidating mountain in the background.

Ash walked up to a building and placed his hand on the building, "there is aura everywhere," Ash stated as he closed his eyes, watching the remnants of the aura pour into his mind, 'even without being obvious they have taken a large number of people away from this town, but why?' Ash tried to read the aura until he looked to the left, he noticed a dark aura surrounded by the aura's of the citizens of the small town.

Salvia watched Ash approaching the specific spot, "Ash, is everything alright?" the royal asked with a concerned tone.

Ash looked up and shook his head, placing his right hand over the spot, "so this is their intentions," Ash whispered, the group of friends watched the trainer standing up, "it is worse than expected, they are intending on using the people of the town to bring the three legendary pokemon out of hiding, Palkia, Dialga and Giratina," Ash informed the group.

"Sacrificing them, but why those three," Greed asked his friend, crossing his arms the Shadow Lord.

Hilda looked up, tilting her head, she felt her head hurting, placing her right hand on her head, wincing in pain from the burning sensation, "they plan on awakening Arceus, the use of the people is nothing but a starting point, but Ash, Salvia and Dusk are the three that are ultimately needed to bring the god of pokemon out of hiding," opened up about the goals of the Dark Aura Masters, 'this is reminiscent of the goals of Pride,' he grew more concerned about the growing situation.

"We are heading out now," Ash snapped at the group of friends.

"No, we need to rest, Hilda has used too much of her limited psychic abilities, plus her and Hilbert have travelled all the way here, then Salvia seems exhausted too, she needs to rest and you, you seem to have had no rest either, it would wise to rest up for the night," informing the group of the problem they all faced, he walked away from them as they tried to figure out why he was telling them to rest.

**(Later that night)**

Ash walked into the main foyer of the Pokemon Centre, his thoughts on the upcoming battle, slowly walking through the main foyer, empty and with only a couple of lights on, a few decorations which signified the coming of Christmas, spotting the tinsel and the tree Ash walked up to the decorated tree, "Dawn, this is what could have been," Ash whispered softly, upon finishing his sorrow filled comments he started hearing foot steps leading up to him, quickly turning back he spotted Salvia who was in her pink nightgown, "hey princess."

"Why are you out here alone?" the blue haired royal asked the Aura Master.

The two looked up at the tree, "I was talking to greed earlier," Ash stated as he grew more concerned about the mission, 'am I trying too hard?' Ash asked himself.

Salvia turned towards the fireplace, her eyes fixated on the flames, she then turned her attention to the trainer standing next to her, "I have been thinking, but it concerns you," Salvia confessed her thoughts to Ash, she looked around, but she was ignored by Ash who was thinking about his argument with Greed.

Ash took a deep breath, feeling visibly shaken by his comments, "Greed said there is no way I can save everyone, he said that I am trying too hard, what do you think?" Ash asked the bluenette standing next to him, he looked back in hopes for a more positive answer.

"Sometimes, it is almost impossible to save everyone around you, I found that out in Pastoria City," Salvia explained, thinking about the loss of her father. She turned away from the trainer and started walking to her room, "maybe we should look for one person to protect and put all our effort in keeping them safe, I found someone who I would put my life on the line to keep safe, in fact make that person smile again," Salvia explained, she sighed and admired Ash from a small distance away, 'I found the person, but he doesn't know yet,' thought the princess as she slowoly turned her attention away from Ash.

Ash walked up to the fireplace and watched the dancing flames, 'someone I need to protect,' the raven haired trainer stared at the flames, staring into the flames he ignored everything around him, even the princess who was watching from the entrance of the hallway, 'when I lost Dawn, I thought I had lost all my hopes of happiness,' Ash thought to himself, but remembered everything of his struggle to defeat the enemies that appeared before him, "but I have found someone I cannot lose, someone I cannot let any harm come to,' he stared into the flames seeing the image of Dawn and Salvia, both nodding at him.

Hilda approached the blue haired princess and tapped her on the shoulder, "why aren't you asleep?" the brunette asked the younger royal.

Salvia turned to the queen, her expression of disdain was directed at the attire of the queen rather than her question, "that isn't really something a royal would wear," Salvia pointed to the shirt that was cut off at the stomach and her small dress that was coloured red, "while on this journey so far I feel like I have been selfish," the princess confessed her disdain towards herself.

"How so?" Hilda asked her friend.

"For example I whenever I think about the future, I see Ash, myself and children, is that so wrong?" Salvia whispered her question to Hilda.

Hilda shook her head and smiled, focusing on Ash, the queen crossed her arms, "no it isn't wrong, sometimes Salvia, funny thing is, as loyal as I am to Hilbert, I do have a small crush on Ash," Hilda informed the princess, the two royals watch, "but I cannot swap and I cannot compare to your love, the love you have for Ash is something you need to tell him," Hilda informed the princess who was fixated on Ash, 'man, she is more obvious than anyone I have ever met,' she thought to herself.

"So what should I tell him?" Salvia asked her friend.

Sitting on the couch, Ash continued to stare at the flames, "I don't want to sit back helplessly," Ash whispered, he continued to think about what his friend had told him, "telling me I cannot save everyone, telling me that a leader will need to make tough choices, he is telling me this sort of stuff…" Ash whispered as he clenched his fists, "he is telling me as if one day I am going to become king of this region."

Salvia tapped Ash on the shoulder causing the man to jump in shock, "so what are you thinking?" the princess asked the Aura Master.

Ash smiled at the princess, he quickly turned to the flames, "thinking about how I can change myself even more than I have in recent weeks," Ash stated his growth over the previous weeks, his own fight against his own inner darkness, "and yet, I am coming to realisation that I cannot save every person, be they stranger or the people I care about," Ash stared into the flames, talking about his own weakness.

"Alright, let me ask you an important question again, who is it you want to keep safe?" Salvia asked the trainer.

Ash quickly glanced over to the princess and then took a deep breath, he let out a sigh and turned away from the princess, "I want to keep you safe," Ash admitted to the royal, he walked to the hallway as the princess stared at him, her mouth wide open in shock, "I am going to bed," Ash informed the young royal, but no response emerged from her.

Hilda walked up to her shocked friend, "wow princess, your face is beet red," the Unova native teased her friend.

"He wants to keep me safe?" Salvia asked herself. Repeating her question, she turned to the flames as she felt a new urge of hope course through her heart, "he has given me the courage to maybe one day tell him my feelings," the bluenette still shaking from the resolve that Ash had given her, "that was the first time he said something really genuine to me, something of that nature, I haven't heard him say in a while," Salvia looked back to see Ash entering his room.

"This might have nothing to do with me, but when are you going to tell him?" Hilda asked her friend, with the question ignored, the brunette watched her friend walking back to the hallway, "you cannot hide it from Ash forever, it will just keep building until you say something," Hilda called to her friend, trying her best to get a reply.

Salvia halted before entering the hallway, she peered back at her friend and nodded, "soon Hilda, right now I am a little nervous as to how he really feels about me," Salvia answered back and entered the hallway.

Placing her right hand over hear forehead, the brunette shook her head in disbelief, "those two are really dense, they have no idea of the feelings other holds," Hilda started laughing at the situation, "fine, I will let them find out on their own for now," Hilda calmly told herself, but also knew that it was getting late and there was no use in pushing the issue further, 'I certain hope those two idiots get the message.'

* * *

**Next time: chapter 24: Let the Game begin**

_**AN: **__with 15 chapters left we will be starting to tie things now, and within those 15 chapter a lot has already been written, so in reality not much left to go, please enjoy_


	24. Let the games begin

**Chapter 24: Let the Games begin.**

_**Summary: **__deciding fates between three people, one road heading towards the last Showdown with the Dark Aura Master, Ash, Salvia and Dusk begin their trials facing their own problems._

* * *

Exiting the pokemon the day's first light hadn't broken through, Ash was first to exit the medical facility with his gaze firmly on the mountain that dominated the skyline, "alright you three, time to end you," Ash whispered, a serious expression was becoming more obvious. He started walking not waiting for his allies to follow him.

"Wait up, we need to follow the plan," Greed called for Ash.

Ash halted his advance to the mountain thinking about the people he needed to save, "Yeah I know, but, the longer we take the lives that will be lost," he argued back.

"One day Ash, you will need to lead this region, that is what I am willing to put my being on the line for," Greed informed Ash, he looked back to see the rest of the group ready to emerge from the Pokemon Centre, "you will not be alone my friend," Greed whispered while keeping his gazed fixed on the princess.

"I have no intention of being a leader," Ash snapped back, he turned away and started walking towards the mountains on his own.

**(Top of Mount Coronet)**

Dusk remained quiet, she watched her former allies preparing to start the plan for the Shadow Lords, "Willow, everything is in place, we just need our guest and the other two to jump," Shade explained to his leader with a calm tone.

"So they know I am here, come on Ash and Salvia, they aren't going to wait forever," Dusk whispered at herself, she peered around the corner and watched as the trio sacrificed a member of the town. Dusk placed her hand over her head as pain shot through her mind, 'what is this?' Dusk closed her eyes with images of the person's life entering her mind, in the image she noticed a woman wearing black and with long blonde hair.

"Oh so this person was related to the Champion of this region," Hollow pointed out with bloodthirsty smile running across his face.

"Bastards, they murdered Cynthia's relative," Dusk gritted her teeth as she grew more upset with their actions.

"Your friends better hurry up Dusk, the longer they take, the higher the number will be!" Shade started to taunt the Aura Master.

The bluenette slid down hitting the wall next to her in frustration, "hurry up, I cannot hold my anger back much longer," Dusk reminded herself. The hours passed as she continued to hear the cries of mercy from the people in the town, Dusk now shaking in anger continued to hold herself back from interfering, "how long must I wait?" Dusk asked herself furiously, clenching her fists making her palms bleed, 'hurry up you fools.'

**(At the Base of the mountain)**

Ash with his back to the log was watching the clouds hovering in the night sky, the group was resting as they continued on towards their destination, Ash slid down his thoughts on the road ahead, "I wasn't thinking," Ash admitted to himself as he felt the cold wind picking up, his vison soon turned to his friends, but soon noticed the princess with a bowl of food, 'I wasn't thinking about Salvia, how much I was hurting her and maybe even considering her feelings,' Ash thought with a frown.

"What are you thinking about?" the young royal asked the trainer.

Ash scratched the back of his head and started to laugh at himself, "nothing much," Ash answered the princess softly. Ash slowly got up and started walking back to the campsite, "come on, there is a fire, maybe we should sit in front of the fire," Ash suggested, leading the bluenette back.

After making back to the campfire Ash, was given a plate of food, the rest of their friends entered their tents leaving Ash and Salvia to watch the fire, "Hilda was teaching me how to cook," Salvia informed the raven haired man.

"That's great," Ash replied with excitement.

Salvia watched the young man eating the food, seeing that he was enjoying the meal, a grin crossed her face, "so what do you think?" she asked the trainer.

Ash swallowed the food and nodded, "it's great," he replied positively.

Breathing a sigh of relief Salvia turned her eyes to the flames, "you know, we have been beating ourselves up for so long and yet, we have never even thought of anything positive," Salvia explained to Ash who was still enjoying the meal, "I have been thinking," Salvia clenched her fists and gulped at the thought that had entered her mind, "what it would be like if….if we were to get married," Salvia stated nervously, not noticing the friends watching from their tents.

After hearing the words of the princess, Ash spat out his food in shock, almost choking on the remaining food in his mouth, swallowing the food, he grabbed for a bottle of water, "Salvia, what are you getting at?" Ash asked the princess.

Salvia started laughing at her own comment, but was soon turned to a hint of guilt, "nothing, just thinking of a possibility," Salvia answered the raven haired Aura Master, she looked up to the stars and took a deep breath, 'a possibility, am I really that stupid?' she asked herself, she turned to Ash who was a little upset that he had lost his food, "how about I get you some more food?" she made her offer to Ash.

"Thank you Salvia," Ash replied, he watched the princess walking towards the remaining food and piled onto the plate a large amount of rice with a spicy curry.

Returning with the plate, Salvia handed Ash the food, "this isn't something I could ever eat, so I made it especially for you," she confessed, allowing Ash to enjoy the food, not wanting to risk the chance of any more food wastage, she held back her comments. Salvia sat next to Ash and placed her arms around her legs, "I haven't learned much about this world, I really want to learn from the best person I know," Salvia lowered her head onto her knees.

Ash swallowed the final portion of food and looked up to the clearing night sky, "I wasn't thinking clearly either," Ash remarked his own faults.

The two made eye contact and started laughing, after their quick fit of laughter Salvia was quick to notice a few grains of rice on Ash's face, "you're a messy eater," the princess teased the trainer.

"How so?" Ash asked the royal.

"Let's see you have a few grains of rice on your face," the princess pointed at the trainer's face. Placing a finger on his face, she removed a grain of rice, "you see, you need to start eating with a sense of grace," the princess informed the trainer, before cleaning off more bits of rice from his face, "then there is the curry," Salvia pointed out with a smile, she grabbed a piece of cloth from her pocket and started cleaning the raven haired man's face with it, causing the two to start laughing at Ash's expense.

**(The Next day)**

After sleeping in, Ash quickly got up, he prepared for the next part of the mission, Ash exited his tent and looked around to find that everyone was enjoying breakfast, "I guess you all couldn't wake me for breakfast," he complained about his friends' lack of interest in getting him up.

"Here Ash," Salvia offered Ash more food.

"Thanks princess," the trainer replied with gratitude directed at her, he looked at the pancakes, "you made these too?" Ash asked the young royal.

"Yes, I had help, but I asked them to not wake you until I finished making you pancakes," Salvia explained to the man, she took her plate of pancakes and sat next to Ash, she looked up at her friends enjoying their breakfast, "soon we will be facing against the Dark Aura Masters," the bluenette stated with a concerned tone.

Ash watched the clouds surrounding the mountain, "yeah, it isn't like we have all day," Ash replied trying to keep his cool.

**(1 hour later)**

Entering the caves Ash and the princess walked ahead of the group, "seems like we need to go our separate ways for some reason," Ash whispered.

"Why? Wouldn't it be better if we remained together?" Salvia asked the young man.

Ash continued to walk on through the cave, 'it isn't like they are making an attempt at getting me and Salvia closer together,' Ash thought. The cave started to get darker with the light from the outside becoming less prominent, "stay close alright," Ash instructed the princess.

"So do you think the strategy will work?" Salvia asked Ash, feeling worried about the implications of the plan.

"Greed is a trusty ally, he hasn't let us down yet," Ash informed the blue haired princess.

**(Flashback)**

Sitting in one of the rooms of the Pokemon Centre Greed rolled out a map with certain points highlighted on the map, "alright Ash, you and Salvia will be taking a separate path which will be the most dangerous, it will lead to a series of cliffs that will lead you directly towards the battlefield," Greed explained the direction the group will be taking, pointing to the map, he looked over to Paul who was placing his left hand over his chin, "this road is the safest, so what is the reason some of you ask?" Greed asked his allies.

Paul nodded and then glanced at his friends, "because there is something you need to get on that road right?" Paul asked the Shadow Lord.

"No, it means, we can set up a safe passage for the people to escape, instead of taking the more dangerous routes, Hilda and Hilbert will provide air support to make sure the people get out safely," Greed answered the purple haired trainer, "you have the strongest pokemon amongst us all, so it should be easy for you to create a path through the mountains," Greed informed the Sinnoh native.

"What does that make my pokemon?" Ash asked the Shadow Lord.

"I see, so, with Ash and Salvia being the target, they cannot be held back," Paul remarked with a smirk, he glanced over to his shoulder, "so that basically means that you and Salvia need to play by their rules while we save the people," Paul informed his friends, frustrated at the situation.

"Exactly, while Ash, Salvia and Dusk are playing their little games, it means the people will be unguarded, not only that, we cannot have a battle because they would simply use the remaining survivors as shields," Greed explained the problems in using their pokemon as part of their plans.

"A cliff, that's the worst," Salvia whispered as she glanced over at the determined Ash.

"What's the matter princess?" Ash asked the young royal, noticing a certain amount of fear etched on her face.

Salvia gulped as she realised the danger of the mission revolved around cliffs, "nothing Ash, just nervous that's all," Salvia lied, but that didn't stop the suspicion arising from Ash, 'I cannot tell him that I am afraid of heights, not yet,' Salvia reminded herself, taking a deep breath as the plan continued to be fleshed out by her friends.

"Alright, the next part of the plan revolves around us meeting up with Ash, Salvia and Dusk to finished off the Dark Aura Masters," Greed informed his allies as he started to roll up the map, Greed looked around at his friends who were nodding at the plan that was presented to them, "alright, remember Ash and Salvia, defeating the Dark Aura Masters is key, so if they enter those dimensions, you need to play your part as well, as for Dusk I have already told her the plans, so she is aware of the situations at hand, the other thing is, you two will most likely be separated," Greed explained to Ash and Salvia, the two nodded as the map was placed back into Greed's bag, "remember your roles and this will be an easy mission," Greed stated with an immense amount of confidence in his allies.

**(Return from the flashback)**

After exiting the cave Ash and Salvia were greeted with the impressive cliffs that spiralled around the mountain, Ash looked back to see the princess remaining close to the entrance, her eyes widened by the height they were at, "you alright? You don't look so well," Ash questioned the young royal.

"Just amazed at the sight that's all," Salvia hesitated sticking close to the mountain walls.

'Is she afraid of heights?' Ash wondered to himself, he walked towards the narrow path that lead to the other side, "seems like we have to cross here," Ash informed the young royal, he approached the ledge feeling the cold winds blowing in from the south, "that is enough to push us down the ledge," Ash grew concerned with the danger of the situation. Ash looked back and extended out his right hand to the princess, "hold my hand tightly," Ash instructed the princess.

"Um Ash, there is something you need to know," Salvia stated with a trembling in her voice.

"I know, you're afraid of heights, that is the reason while I will stay close, so that way I can keep you safe," Ash replied in an assuring tone, leading her towards the narrow path, 'that is at least ten metres, but it is also very narrow,' Ash thought as he placed his back towards the wall of the mountain, "if it seems like it is too much, close your eyes and keep taking side steps, and please don't look down" Ash instructed the princess.

"Alright," Salvia followed Ash, she took small steps towards the other side with her hand gripping Ash's tightly, she closed her eyes like Ash told her and continued to follow Ash.

Ash and Salvia continued on with the winds kicking up, Ash made sure that the princess remained safe and held onto her hand, taking his time to make sure the princess was safe, he noticed how much closer they were getting to the other side, after making it to safe ground Ash helped the princess back onto safe ground, "you can open your eyes now, we are on safe ground," Ash informed the royal.

"How long before we stop this? It is really scary," Salvia's fear became more obvious to Ash.

Ash looked around and noticed a much longer path towards a cave, "seems like we have a much longer path princess," Ash answered the princess, 'damn you Greed, you didn't even ask Salvia to see if this was alright with her,' Ash clenched his fists, but noticed how the princess was tightening her grip on his right hand, looking back at the princess who tried to hide her fear even more, "listen, I am going to cross first alright? I have some rope that Greed handed me, I am going to give up one end while the other will be with me," Ash informed the princess of the idea.

"No, I don't want to do this alone," Salvia snapped back in fear.

"I don't think we have much of a choice, that path looks like it could give way if too much weight is put on it, our combined weight could cause it to collapse sending us to our death, I have no intention on meeting Dawn yet," Ash responded calmly, Salvia lightened her grip on Ash's hand, allowing him to pull his bag off, he opened it and pulled out a the rope, "give me your hand," Ash requested the royal.

"Okay," the blunette replied.

"I will tie your hand with the rope, you keep a tight grip on it," Ash smiled at the princess he took the other end and started to walk to the other end, "you wait until I call for you alright?" Ash asked the princess.

Salvia nodded and watched Ash walking towards the narrow path, "be careful," the concerned and fearful princess gave out her worried wishes.

Ash took the first steps with the rope in hand, "now remember to watch where you step, I don't want you tripping over," Ash whispered, he continued on concentrating on the path that he needed to take, 'I am not going to give up, I have a reason not to die yet,' Ash thought to himself as he slid across the path, slowly.

Salvia watched Ash sliding her hand became sweaty as her nerves started to cause her to shake almost uncontrollably, 'you can do it, don't give up, I will help you,' a female voice rang in the princess' mind.

Salvia looked around to see where the voice was coming from, "who was that?" Salvia asked around, but the only person in the area was Ash, but no one was around to tell her that she shouldn't give up, "was that you?" She whispered to herself, but feeling assured enough to follow the path that Ash had taken.

"Alright Salvia, you can cross now, I have the rope, and I promise that I will not let go!" Ash yelled at the top of his lungs, Ash prepared in case something were to happen, 'I will not let anything happen to you,' Ash watched the princess shuffling across the narrow path. Watching the princess holding onto the rope she slowly walked towards the other side of the path.

Slowly moving one step at a time, tightly gripping the rope, "am I almost there?" Salvia asked the trainer.

"You're doing fine," Ash announced, he continued to hold on to the rope as he watched the princess move slowly. Salvia gulped noticing that the wind had picked up, preventing her from moving any further, "come on my princess, you can do it!" Ash called to the young royal.

"Alright," the bluenette started to move slowly towards her destination again. She stopped moving again this time, she looked down at the incredible height that she was at and she started breathing heavily as she started to get dizzy.

"Oh no Salvia!" Ash yelled out for the royal, not hesitating to tighten his grip on the rope, "don't let go of the rope," Ash tried pleading with the princess, she used his other hand and pulled out a pokeball, "Bulbasaur, help me out," Ash called for a blue pokemon with a green bulb on his back, "use Vine Whip to bring Salvia to safety," Ash instructed his pokemon.

Caught by the vines of the grass type pokemon Salvia looked up to discover that Ash was trying his best to pull her up with the assistance with one of his pokemon, 'I looked down, because I was so scared,' Salvia started beating herself up getting closer to safe ground.

After making it to safe ground Salvia collapsed into Ash's chest, ebrassing him with tears rolling down her face, "we aren't too far from the destination my princess," Ash embraced the visibly shaken royal.

"I am sorry for being scared of heights," Salvia apologized to Ash.

"hey you two, don't rush things, Greed and Paul are still an hour away from their destination," Hilda informed Ash and Salvia, looking down to see the young royal in the arms of Ash.

"Alright we will take a break inside that cave," Ash led the princess to the cave with Bulbasaur following closely. Entering into the cave Ash allowed he princess to sit down, "sorry for not realising the fear of heights," Ash returned with his apology to the young royal.

Salvia now sitting on the ground looked up to Ash who was waiting for the signal to start the plan, "say Ash, is it a habit you picked up?" Salvia asked the young man.

"What habit?" Ash replied with his question.

"I have noticed that every time something happens, you call me, 'my princess,'" Salvia informed Ash about a certain habit he picked up.

"Why do you ask?" the raven haired man questioned the royal quietly, he sat next to the princess and looked towards the Sky Pillar entrance, "not too long my princess," Ash grew nervous bringing up the same habit the bluentte was asking about.

"There, you did it again," Salvia quickly pointed it out again, "I want to know why?" Salvia requested but Ash looked away with a slight redness on his face, "are you alright?" Salvia asked the trainer but Ash still ignored her.

As the time passed quickly Ash looked back at the young royal, "oh your question, yeah, it is a habit I picked a while ago," Ash replied, but still wasn't telling her the full extent of his reasoning, "you don't like it?" Ash asked the royal.

"It's just strange, so can you just call me by my name? I want to hear you call my name," Salvia requested softly, Ash walked ahead, trying his best to ignore the request, "I am sorry," the blunette apologized, before ducking as a flock of Zubat flew overhead.

After ducking Ash turned to the princess with a positive expression, he signalled for her to follow him, "alright time to go Salvia," Ash responded to the request, leading her to the exit.

"Finally you two made it here," Dusk greeted her allies with a hint and frustration.

Ash looked up and noticed the skies glowing, in the background, the colours that changed from purple, red and even green, "when did this start?" Ash asked with a fearful expression.

"Forty five minutes ago," Dusk answered the raven haired man, she waited for the two to walk up the stairs, "they have already killed numerous people, just to achieve this, I can also sense the aura's of three powerful pokemon coming with another more powerful aura heading here," Dusk watched the Dark Aura Masters preparing for another sacrifice.

"Do you know the plan?" Ash asked quietly.

"Yeah, we are to play along with their rules, while we keep them busy, Greed, Hilda, Hilbert and that other guy will be helping with the evacuation," Dusk whispered, she looked over the steps, determined to get the plan started, "no point waiting for them to kill more people, we are heading in now," Dusk jumped up and charged in to prevent more of the people becoming victims.

"Damn, why couldn't Dusk wait?" Ash hissed, he and the princess leapt into the fray, surrounded by the innocent people of the small town, "alright, we are here, now there is no need to kill more people," Ash stated as three portals appeared behind them, Ash looked back to see a piercing darkness pulling him into the portal.

"Good, now the games begin," Willow informed the trio, watching Ash being pulled into the darkness, she watched her teammates rushed towards the two women as she remained standing laughing at the trainer, "now you three enjoy the last moments of your lives," the female Dark Aura Master stated with laughter directed at her three enemies.

"Don't worry Willow, once I am done with Shade, I will be coming to destroy you later," Dusk declared her plan to defeat her former ally, allowing herself to be taken into the alternate dimension with Shade pushing her in.

Salvia and Ash glanced at one another and nodded, "stay safe Salvia," Ash whispered as he watched the royal being taken into the next dimension.

"Don't worry Aura Master, we no longer need the people, we already know of this plan," Willow smirked at the young man before he was finally pulled into another dimension.

Ash looked around seeing a distorted world, parts of land floating sideways as well as parts of lands hovering overhead, "I remember this place, this is where Dawn and I became trapped," Ash whispered to himself, reminiscing on the past, he was now alone, but couldn't help but search for the princess who was almost always there for him, "Salvia, I hope you're alright," Ash wished for the safety of the bluenette, but the lack of response, his voice echoed around him, but there was still no female voice replying to his call.

Meanwhile in a dark world filled with different planets was Dusk, she looked around trying to figure out where she was, "am I trapped in another dimension? This seems like the spatial dimension," Dusk quickly noticed the colourful planets and the stars that twinkled around her, "if so, then why am I not dead?" she asked herself as she slowly floated towards a planet.

In the same dimension Shade followed the woman without her knowing, "that's right Dusk, this game is going to be fought on my terms," Shade followed the Aura Master from a safe distance.

In another dimension the princess who was unconscious was floating around a mysterious place, she slowly woke up to discover that she was in another world, it seemed like time was standing still, she looked around to see where she was, it was then she noticed that someone was missing, a raven haired trainer, "Ash, Please be safe," Salvia's thoughts turned to Ash, she grew more concerned for the missing trainer, 'so what was the reason for us to get separated?" she asked herself, feeling like something bad was about to happen.

* * *

**next up chapter 25: the trials of Space**

**Alright ladies and gents the next three chapters will focus on the three characters, hope you all enjoy. **


	25. Trials of Space

**Chapter 25: the trials of Space.**

_**Summary: **__facing her own trial Dusk must now find the answers that she seeks, with answers that will change her outlook on life._

* * *

Hilda landed with Hilbert following close behind, she looked around to see Paul and Greed opening a new path, Ï don't sense Ash, Salvia and Dusk at the summit," Hilda informed the rest of her allies, she looked up at the skies as the multiple colours lit up the sky, "I hope those three will be alright," Hilda whispered her concerns.

"Did you two get a look at what was going on at the summit?" Greed asked the Unova royals.

Hilbert and Hilda recalled their respective pokemon and turned their focus to their friends, "yeah, but it just seems like we were also falling into a trap," Hilbert replied with a worried expression, he looked up to the summit, 'man, I would have loved to have seen this region without this crap happening,' Hilbert thought to himself.

"So you two cannot provide air support?" Paul asked as he called out a brown pokemon with steel claws and hood, "I took the chance to visit your region a year ago, caught myself an Excadrill," Paul explained smirking at his powerful pokemon, "Excadrill, use Dig to create a tunnel for us," Paul instructed his pokemon, the powerful pokemon started spinning around and bored his way through the mountain.

"I will call the next pokemon Ampheros, use Flash," Hilda called for a large yellow pokemon with a red node at the end of her tail.

"We better hurry," Greed entered the newly forming cave, being followed by the electric pokemon as she radiated light from her tail, he pulled out a map and stared at it, "alright, judging from the map we still have a little while to go, Paul, tell your Excadril to increase the slant a little," Greed told his ally.

"Excadrill, increase the angle by about five degrees," Paul issued his command, he looked over to Greed who was nodding at the progress, "so how much further?" Paul asked the Shadow Lord.

"All we need is the time, the time only those three can give us, I also trust that Ash, Dusk and the Princess will make it out of this alive," Greed stated while walking through the cave.

"Why are you so sure of that?" Hilbert asked Greed.

"Simple, Dusk wants to prove everyone wrong, Salvia has to revive her kingdom and as for Ash….." Greed stopped at the trainer thinking back to the first time he met the trainer, the way he changed around the princess, "he wants to keep her safe, he will not die while Salvia remains in this world, something is driving him to live on and I think we all know who that person is," Greed explained the reasoning for Ash's fight against his fellow Shadow Lords.

"Yeah, I think we all know," Hilda replied with a smile, she looked over at Hilbert and nodded, "she is the reason for him to go forward, so I trust that he will forge his own road ahead with Slaiva," the brunette explained to the group, "plus he also has a rival to contend with," Hilda started laughing as the group looked back, "Dusk might not want to admit it, but she is also one of the best friends Ash has, almost like there is a sibling rivalry between them," Hilda told her friends as she remembered the time she read the mind of Dusk.

(In the space dimension)

Landing on one of the orbs Dusk scanned the area, "Shade, I know you're around, show yourself," Dusk called for the enemy, she spotted the man landing on another orb, "these orbs represent the planets of the galaxy right?" Dusk asked the Dark Aura Master.

"Correct, but this is where you will meet your end," Shade informed the young woman, he charged towards her confidently wanting to bring a quick end to their confrontation.

"Like hell that will happen so quickly," Dusk informed the Dark Aura Master, the two people rushed at one another with their fists glowing blue with Aura

Jumping from replica planets to replica planets, Dusk and Shade threw the first punches of the battle, causing powerful shockwaves to pulse out around them, as the explosive power emanated around them, a group of asteroids flew out towards the other planets in the surrounding area causing them to destroy the replica planets.

"Not bad Dusk," Shade landed on one of the asteroids, but before he could start he charge towards the Aura Master, he jumped in reaction to her next attack, landing on another rocky object he watched as the asteroid exploded sending debris towards the other objects in the space dimension, "wow, you aren't holding back," Shade started to tease his former ally.

"Oh I am holding back," Dusk admitted with a smirk, she stood up and glared at the Dark Aura Master, cracking her knuckles ready to start another attack, "how about you tell me the truth, or I will beat it out of you," Dusk threatened her former teammate.

"The truth? I don't think you will like it," Shade sneered at the bluenette.

Dusk jumped towards the remains of the asteroid and performed another smashing punch, "tell me now," Dusk growled at the young man.

"Are you sure?" Shade asked the Aura Master.

Not even wanting to wait for an answer, Dusk jumped up and surrounded her right leg with aura, she flew towards the asteroid and sent it plummeting towards the orb Shade was on, in shock Shade leapt out of the way as the object crashed through the replica planet he was on, "that is just a taste of what I am capable of," Dusk confessed with a confident smirk, she looked down at the Dark Aura Master who was gasping in fear.

"You see Dusk, you are nothing but a remnant of another person's aura," Shade informed the bluenette with a smirk, he started laughing while Dusk's rage started to build, "you are one half of Dawn, but I am guess you want to know where the other half come from, you are nothing but an aura being," Shade informed the Aura Master as he continued to taunt his former ally.

In shock at what she had heard Dusk's eyes widened, she clenched her fists and charged towards the Dark Aura Master, "you lie!" Dusk answered back, but was unable to control her anger enough before feeling her former ally tackled her towards one of the red orbs in the distance.

"Am I? It is really simple, everyone has an aura, even Dawn did," Shade started laughing at the Aura Master, "you see, you are able to control the nature of Aura, this is something weDark Aura Masters exploited from you," Shade informed the blue haired Aura Master, his smile broadened as he formed a ball of aura showing her an image, "you see, we were using you, we promised to tell you about your past, yet, you never had one," Shade explained to Dusk who was now visibly shaken in tears and angry at the same time

Before Shade could finish his explanation aura exploded from Dusk whose hair was waving around violently due to the power she was expelling, "shut up you bastard, I am me, a person, and I will rip you to shreds," Dusk snapped at the Dark Aura Master, seething with anger at the confession from her former ally, she used her aura to send out a powerful shockwave that sent planets and asteroids flying in every direction and crashing into one another.

"You were never meant to exist," Shade informed the young woman.

Her rage growing, she blindly charged at the Dark Aura Master, reckless in her approach, she formed a black ball of aura, "suffer in hell you bastard!" Dusk pushed the aura orb closer to her foe.

Shade leapt back easily evading the attack, "opps, you missed, want to try again?" Shade arrogantly asked the furious woman with a playful tone.

"Get back here you coward," Dusk screamed out her frustrations, she rushed at the Dark Aura Master, "I am not a remnant, but once I get my hands on you, I will snap that neck of yours," Dusk threatened her enemy, forming another black ball of aura, as she got closer a pink blade stopped her from charging, a powerful roar shock her to the core. Dusk looked around confused as to what was happening.

Shade turned around and noticed the stunned expression on his former ally's face, "I see, so it has arrived at long last, Palkia," Shade announced the arrival of a bipedal pokemon coloured mostly white with pink stripes and two pink spheres on the pokemon's shoulders, "or it seems like your rage was what called it in the first place," Shade informed the Aura Master, laughing at her as she looked up to see the legendary pokemon glaring at her.

Snapping out of her rage Dusk stepped back in shock, the pokemon glared down at her, the orbs glowing, 'oh man, I don't have the pokemon to fight against that…thing,' Dusk's eyes widened at the sight of the pokemon preparing a powerful attack.

"It seems like the courageous Dusk, is now scared of facing her demise, how odd for someone who isn't supposed to be alive," Shade started to taunt the young woman, laughing at her, "you experience anger, fear, too bad you don't even know what happiness is," Shade continued his mental games on the Aura Master.

"I am at my happiest when I physically destroy people, snapping their necks always makes me feel better," Dusk retorted with a bloodthirsty smile, she cracked her knuckles and started laughing at the Dark Aura Master, "breaking your neck will give me enough satisfaction that I might not ever need to do it again," Dusk stared at her enemy with a more than ready tone to make her next attack on the foe, not even caring about the intimidating pokemon standing in her way.

"Really? What about Palkia, it has been here for a moment, you brought it here and you still want to kill me? Good luck with that," Shade enquired as he looked up to the legendary pokemon and nodded at it to signal for an attack.

Palkia turned to Dusk and formed a powerful pink blade with its arm, the pokemon slashed at the bluenette, she jumped back but the shockwave caught her senind her flying back to one of the objects that remained in the area, "you see, even your friend isn't here to help you," Shade taunted the Aura Master as the pokemon readied itself for another attack on Dusk.

"I don't have any friends!" Dusk snapped back, leaping out of the way from the attack she landed on a sphere and stared at the powerful pokemon, she started panting, heeling herself at the same time, 'that pokemon is way too powerful,' Dusk cleared away some of the blood coming from the corner of her mouth.

"You will never get close to me, not with Palkia fighting for me," Shade jumped back as he looked up to the spatial pokemon, "use Hyper Beam," Shade instructed the large white and pink pokemon.

The powerful pokemon fired a powerful purple and black beam, Dusk spotted the attack and jumped out of the way, she watched as one of the planer replicas exploded, destroying surrounding spheres and asteroids

"Enough, you seriously think that this pokemon is enough to stop me from killing you?!" Dusk angrily asked her enemy, she rushed at him, not even caring about the presence of the spatial pokemon, gathering a certain amount of aura, she pushed it towards the Dark Aura Master, but as the sphere got closer, the enemy formed his own corrupted aura and pushed it into the incoming attack.

The two spheres exploded causing the two Aura Masters to slide back with Palkia watching, "not bad remnant, but still you are only using borrowed power," Shade informed the bluenette.

"Borrowed, fine, then I will use it the way it needs to be used, your death as well as the defeat of the Shadow Lords!" Dusk gritted her teeth, she clenched her hands tightly, focusing the aura into her fists, instead of the black aura she was using moments before a purple aura surrounded one fist while the standard blue aura, "your mind games end here, I have decided what I am going to do, I am going to live my own life!" Dusk declared her intentions to Shade, charging towards the enemy, with Palkia stopping her with a powerful attack, 'shit I forgot about Palkia,' Dusk thought to herself quickly evading the explosion from the landing attack from the space pokemon.

"What will you do remnant?" Shade continued to taunt the Dark Aura Master with a confident smirk.

"Call me remnant one more time, instead of snapping you neck, I will rip your head off your shoulders," Dusk angrily replied, moving her right thumb across her neck, "unlike Ash, I at least have a reason to kill you, all you bastards did was tell me it was my mission to kill him, so I adopted it as my only reason to exist," Dusk glared at the very confident enemy.

"Yes, you were an easy puppet, with no memories of your own, and only the memories of people you thought were a stranger to you as well as being an opposite of someone you look like, it was simple to bend your will," Shade informed the young Aura Master, who charged at the Dark Aura Master, punching him with all her might, "yes, let out all your rage, soon you will become exactly like me a Dark Aura Master, well, you have been on your way with that for the last month," Shade laughed at the woman's expense.

"No, I refuse to let you take advantage of me, I have told you, I am Dusk of the Sinnoh region, I will follow my own path, refusing to let destiny decide what I should do," Dusk rushed at her foe recklessly, she kicked the Dark Aura Master sending him flying towards the space pokemon.

"Gah, oh man, she kicks harder than she punches," Shade grabbed his side, "she even broke a few of my ribs with that, luckily I can recover quickly with my aura," Shade reminded himself of the power he possessed, placing his hand over the injury, heading to a safer location, but was dogged by a more powerful foe, not giving him the chance to recover, 'man, she is much stronger and persistent than I expectd," Shade tried his best to get away from Dusk.

"Like hell you will," Dusk snapped at the Dark Aura Master, she stormed at her foe without letting him have the chance to recover, "not even hiding behind Palkia will save you from my wrath," Dusk hollered at the enemy, she evaded a powerful attack from Palkia, knowing that it was defending the Dark Aura Master, "you coward Shade!" Dusk yelled out, she landed to the left then followed up with a charge surrounded by a bright blue aura.

Shade watched in fear as he felt a crushing finally land, breaking his right arm, screaming out in pain the Dark Aura Master fell to his knees grasping onto his broken arm.

Landing in front of her foe, she cracked her knuckles, she then turned her attention to Palkia and tilted her head, "is this the type of ally you really want?" Dusk asked the legendary pokemon, pointing at the injured foe, "this person you side with, he doesn't care about the Sinnoh Region, he only cares about destruction," Dusk explained to the legendary pokemon, she glared at the Dark Aura Master and waited for the powerful pokemon to attack her.

"Damn you Dusk, you will achieve nothing," Shade winced in pain, slowly getting to his feet, his right arm dangling down after the vicious kick from the former ally, "when it is all said and done, Arceus will be handed to the Shadow Lords," Shade laughed at the bluenette, informing her of the folly of her mission.

"Enough, you bastard, I am going to save Sinnoh, there is nothing even a god can do about it," Dusk leapt back after sensing the actions of the spatial pokemon, 'stupid Palkia getting in the way,' Dusk thought herself as she started to get ready to initiate another attack on the Dark Aura master.

The bipedal pokemon glared at the Aura Master and prepared to open up a portal, "hey, I am the one to tell you what to do!" Shade informed the powerful pokemon, Palkia, turned towards the Dark Aura Master and started to form a sphere around the enemy, "hey what the hell are you doing?" Shade asked the legendary pokemon, getting ready to break out of what would potentially be his new home.

'You are free to go, this Dark Aura Master will be imprisoned with his allies,' the legendary pokemon informed the Aura Master, allowing her to leave.

Dusk glanced at the Dark Aura Master and smiled at him, "I am better than you, I at least have…. Friends," Dusk turned away from the enemy as a bright white orb started to surround him, "being eternally imprisoned means you got lucky, I was about to use your head like a football," Dusk walked out of the dimension with a laugh, feeling like she missed out on her chance to kill her enemy.

"You said you had no friends, what is it Dusk?!" Shade questioned the Aura Master, Dusk continued towards the portal.

Dusk stopped and looked back at her former ally, with her new found happiness, "I choose not to admit it Dusk, but Ash is actually my best friend, not even he knows this," Dusk informed the person who was still yelling his taunts at the woman

After emerging from the dimension Dusk looked up to see Willow calling for the god pokemon, "I see you made it out alive, meaning Shade failed to live up to the standards I needed him to follow," Willow glanced over her right shoulder, "too bad the princess is nowhere near as strong as you or Ash, she will not make it out alive," the Dark Aura Master laughed at the foe, she returned her focus on the calling of the most powerful pokemon.

"Come down here," Dusk's demand fell on deaf ears as she looked up to see a hole in the sky forming, she felt the breath of a pokemon pushing her away, "no way, that was Arceus," Dusk noticed the cry of the pokemon, a shadow appeared as it crossed the hole causing her to gasp in fear, "that pokemon, it's massive," Dusk whispered but knew that there was no time to wait for Willow to finish the call of the pokemon.

"Alright, it seems like we are on time," a female voice celebrated, Dusk glanced over her right shoulder to see four people rushing up to the blue haired woman, "Dusk, it's good to see you again," Hilda called to her friend.

"Took your time," Dusk replied as she looked over to the prisoners, she rushed up to the people and used her aura to release them, "go, I don't need anything holding me back," she informed some of the people who were in the cages.

Hilda stared at the bluenette and smiled at her for a moment, 'she has changed, it is like she has become a different person,' the brunette thought to herself, almost proud of the Aura Master, 'she isn't some remnant, she is like everyone here,' Hilda told herself as she watched Paul and Greed leading the people away.

Greed glanced over his right shoulder and respectfully nodded at the Aura Master, 'she will not admit it, but she has someone she can consider her equal,' Greed noted the more confident expression on the woman, but also thought about her rivalry with Ash, 'those two are much stronger than anticipated,' Greed continued to think about his new friend's disposition.

"So Dusk, where is Shade?" Hilbert asked the bluentte calmly.

Dusk started laughing at the question, she looked at the sky and continued her laughter, "I broke his right arm, his ribs," Dusk explained her actions with clarity to her allies, "and now he has escaped my wrath by being imprisoned in the Space dimension for all eternity, seems like I need to injure someone," Dusk explained to Hilbert and Hilda with a hint of dissatisfaction at not hurting Shade anymore, she looked up to Willow with a bloodthirsty smile, "I think I will injure her, and since she had a part to play in using me, I am going to enjoy every second of it," Dusk openly admitted her intentions to her Unova friends.

"And if you cannot do what you want to do?" Hilda asked almost regretting her question.

"Then I will turn my fury on to Ash," Dusk retorted almost like she didn't care.

Hilda and Hilbert shook their heads in disbelief in the response, Hilda also spotted a cheeky smile coming from the Aura Master, "oh right, he is your rival and best friend," Hilda whispered to herself, but also knew that Dusk wasn't the person to mess with, she watched her friend, staring at the top of the building, "she is going to wait for Ash and Salvia to come back," Hilda continued to think aloud.

Paul was leading the people through the cave that his Excadrill made, he turned his attention to Greed who with a broad smile across his face, "what are you so happy about?" Paul asked his friend.

"My plan is a success, plus I can tell that our friend Dusk seems to have a slightly different outlook on life now," Greed replied with great joy.

"How so? It isn't like she respects her enemies or her friends," Paul enquired with a frown.

"No, she does have a friend, just one friend in this world," Greed educated his friend, looking at the ground he started laughing at what he knew would happen, "she would never admit to it, but like our friend from Unova said, Ash is really her best friend," Greed indicated the change to the Aura Master.

"So why doesn't she accept other people as her friends?" Paul asked the Shadow Lord.

"I have no idea, even Salvia isn't linked to Dusk on that level, just like how Ash and Salvia have their destinies intertwined," Greed explained to Paul as they continued to lead the people down towards the safety of the exit, "you know what I am talking about right? It is rather obvious to us all," Greed questioned the former rival of Ash.

"You mean, Ash and Salvia are in love, but those two are unaware of the feelings that they each have for eachother," Paul answered the Shadow Lord's question.

Greed nodded, but remained quiet from the purple haired rival, they continued to follow the path towards the town, "Paul we will be heading back, I think the people will be fine, the Shadow Lords will not be wasting their time," Greed stated calmly.

**(In the time dimension)**

Salvia was scanning the area, she started to feel the loneliness of time playing on her mind, she turned to one of the mysterious faces that appeared mere metres from her, "what is this?" Salvia asked herself as she gulped at seeing something that she had never seen before, she took a closer inspection and noticed a picture appearing on the clock face.

Hollow landed on the top of the clock, "this is the time dimension, what are you are seeing is different periods in time, I wonder, what does your past tell us?" Hollow asked the princess as she looked up at the powerful enemy.

"What are you asking me for, it isn't like it is important," Salvia asked the enemy with a determined expression.

Hollow leapt down as he landed behind the royal, "well, if that is the case, let's wind the clock forward a little bit," Hollow answered back, pushing the royal's face into the clock, "of course this place tells us everything, will you be alone for the rest of your life? Or will you find happiness?" Hollow continued to force Salvia into watching the time go forward, "either way, there is no chance of you making it of here alive," the Dark Aura Master informed the princess.

"That isn't for you to decide," Salvia whispered, trying to fight back against the strength of the Dark Aura Master, "the future isn't as easily predicted, that is something that I have learned from Ash," Salvia explained to Hollow, stepping on her enemy's toes forcing him to let go of her, she turned to face the foe, "you might be stronger than me, but that doesn't mean I will be giving up, not when I have decided my future," Salvia glared at te powerful man, informing him of her chosen path.

* * *

**With her victory Dusk makes it back to her dimension with her own questions, but now the next part of the game continues for Ash and Salvia.**

**Next up Chapter 26: Trials of Time**


	26. Trials of Time

**Chapter 26: Trials of time**

_**Summary: **__Salvia must face her trial on her own as she discovers how strong the bond between Ash and Dawn truly was, she begins to doubt herself, but pushes herself to go forward without regret._

* * *

"So the princess does have some fight in her," Hollow whispered as he started chuckling at the blue haired royal. The princess remained calm, preparing her pokeball for a battle, "A pokemon battle, is that what you want?" the Dark Aura Master asked the royal, "fine, but I will not be holding back against you," he informed the royal, holding out his pokeball for a battle.

"I am stronger than you think," Salvia replied with a slight hint of venom in her voice, throwing out her pokeball a humanoid pokemon with a white dress appeared with a green head and red eyes appeared, "say hello to my Gardevoir," Salvia told her foe, confident in her skills in battle.

"Lucario, time to bring the darkness," Hollow called for his signature pokemon.

Salvia glared at the pokemon, "right so all people who have aura can use Lucario," Salvia whispered to herself with a frown.

"Pitiful, sheltered little princess, everything has aura, even you, but yours is way too weak to be used in an effective manner, not like Ash's or Dusk's auras," Hollow informed the bluenette, he pointed to the clock face behind the princess, "there is one question that I would like to ask you," he grinned at the clock face.

"Now you're stalling," Salvia stated with a displeased expression.

Hollow laughed even more as the picture of Ash's past appeared behind the young royal, "oh this is interesting, it seems like Ash and this woman named Dawn had a really strong bond," Hollow remarked with a dark smile, seeing all the events the two shared with one another, happy moments and sad moments, "so where are you in all of this?" Hollow questioned the princess.

Salvia looked back to see how happy her two friends were, doubt began to arise in the eyes of the princess, 'those two looked really happy,' Salvia thought as she watched the love between Ash and Dawn continue to grow in front of her, "but that is in the past," Salvia whispered as she turned to the Dark Aura Master.

"Oh really? But aren't you their friend?" Hollow started to taunt the Sinnoh royal with a smirk, he pointed towards the clock to show more of the bond between Ash and Dawn, "do you seriously think you can compete with that. "Lucario, use Metal Claw," Hollow ordered his powerful pokemon to start the battle against the princess.

"Gardevoir counter with Shadow Ball," Salvia commanded her pokemon to strike back, the psychic type pokemon formed a powerful orb, leaping back and throwing the orb at the incoming attack.

The orb collided with the metal claws of the aura pokemon slicing it in half, each half flew in separate directions causing the clock faces to explode after the impact of the spheres, "I wonder what else can we see here?" Hollow asked the princess, searching for another way to attack the princess on a mental level.

"You said you wanted a battle, yet all you are doing is looking for a way to mentally beat me down, there is nothing you can say that will make me doubt myself," Salvia snapped at the Dark Aura Master, she looked over to her pokemon who was getting ready to make another attack, only needing the command of her trainer, "alright, since you don't want to continue this battle, Gardevoir attack now with Psychic," Salvia ordered her pokemon to attack yet again.

"Double Team now," Hollow issued his command, the powerful aura pokemon split into multiple images causing a small hint of confusion with the embrace pokemon, "now hit it with Metal Claw," Hollow called for the counter attack, the images of the fighting type pokemon leapt up and extended their claws to slash down on the opposing pokemon.

Salvia scanned the ground until she spotted a shadow, "there Gardevoir, use Dazzling Gleam," the princess ordered her pokemon, a powerful burst of light pulsed out from Gardevoir, knocking away every double she had seen and the opposing pokemon at the same time.

"Not bad, but you aren't going to win that easily," Hollow complimented the princess,a clock face appeared behind the Dark Aura Master, "you see, time can be used to show many things, the past the present and the future, have you ever wondered what the future tells you?" Hollowed started to question the princess.

"I never stopped to wonder, I decided a while ago, to follow the path I choose, not have it predetermined for me," Salvia replied as she tried her best to keep Hollow from playing more mind games, before Hollow could answer she watched as the image of Ash and Dawn journeying together, "so you bring up their journey," Salvia glared at the Dark Aura master.

"No that was you, you were wanted to see what their journey together was like," Hollow replied as he pointed to the image of Ash and Dawn five years prior to the current battle, "as you can seem there is no way you can even think of replacing your best friend," Hollow informed the princess who was stepping back in shock.

"I have no intentions of replacing Lady Dawn, I am Salvia, a different person," Salvia answered back timidly, she watched the images keep winding forwards, seeing Ash and Dawn holding hands, a sense of envy filled the eyes of the princess, 'why is it getting to me?' Salvia started to question herself, she grew more doubtful at the images she was seeing.

"I can see it in your eyes, in fact, you still doubt that you can compete with a person who is deceased," Hollow continued his taunting, he chuckled at the princess who was placing her right hand over her forehead, "I can also read your aura, it tells me a lot," the man's eyes started glowing as he continued to read into Salvia's aura.

"I need to block my thoughts," Salvia tried in vain to clear her mind.

"A little late there princess, I have already read some of your thoughts," Hollow stated with a broad grin, he turned towards another clock face and pointed towards the next image, "your greatest fear," he showed the princess the newest image.

"My greatest fear is heights," Salvia answered back, but soon noticed another image, in her thrown room alone ruling her kingdom with no one at her side.

"Fear of heights is something a person can conquer, but this fear is something that resides deep down inside," Hollow continued his mind games with the princess, as the princess began hesitating he signalled for his pokemon to initiate another attack on the opposing psychic pokemon.

Meanwhile outside the dimension, Paul and Greed started walking back towards the battle, seeing the people were now safe from the Dark Aura Masters, "so Greed, you are telling me that you have another plan for later on?" Paul asked his ally calmly.

"Yes, but I need you to keep it quiet from Ash," Greed made the Sinnoh based trainer agree, "I know that he has been suffering all because of my mistake, so I plan on sacrificing myself to stop my former allies," Greed explained his intentions to Paul who suddenly felt the ground jolt beneath, "something is happening," Paul whispered as he tried to hold his footing, he noticed parts of the cave falling, "we better get a move on."

"Right," the Shadow Lord agreed with a hurried tone. The two started running towards the Sky Pillar not wanting to let their friends remain in trouble, "those Dark Aura Masters have almost awakened Arceus, I can feel it in my bones," Greed whispered as he, tried to keep his composure.

At the Sky Pillar, Hilda and Hilbert called out their flying type pokemon, "I am not going to sit and wait for Ash and Salvia to return," Hilbert declared as the winds started to pick up around the summit.

"You two morons wait, they will be here soon," Dusk hissed at the Unova royals, her frustrations growing at the length of time Ash and Salvia were taking.

"But what are supposed to do?" Hilda enquired impatiently, she looked up to the sky, "this was like six years ago," Hilda whispered, remembering what had happened.

"That is because this event is a worldwide even, it could also be seen from Kalos, Unova and all other regions," Hilbert explained to his wife, he took a deep breath and recalled his pokemon, he turned to glare at the Dark Aura Master, "she knows that this could do a lot of damage," Hilbert watched on with lightning starting to crash down around them.

**(In time Dimension)**

"Psychic now," Salvia quickly called for another attack.

With the eyes of the embrace pokemon glowing blue, a powerful psychic wave rushed towards the opposing pokemon, the fighting type pokemon quickly dodged the attack and charged at the princess' pokemon, with a bone staff ready to strike back against the opposing pokemon, "now use Bone Rush," Hollow issued his command with a crazed laughter.

"Use Double Team to evade it," Salvia quickly ordered her pokemon in a panicked tone.

Creating doubles of herself, the psychic type easily evaded the attack making the princess breathe a sigh of relief, she looked up to see another image of her and Dawn talking to each other, "so it seems like you two also share some sort of bond," Hollow looked around to see more of the past between the two people that have had a great impact on Salvia's life, "man this past stuff is amazing," Hollow started to show more signs of arrogance.

"You are more focused on tormenting me about the past, using one of the many possible futures," Salvia grew more impatient with her foe, she looked at her pokemon and nodded, "let's change that shall we?" Salvia nodded at her pokemon, knowing what she was thinking the embrace pokemon unleashed a powerful barrage of colourful leaves in every direction, hitting the opposing pokemon without any trouble and destroying the clock faces that surrounded the battlefield.

"She wasn't going to wait for me to finish, fine, Lucario attack now with Metal Claw," Hollow called for the next attack. After getting up slowly the fighting type pokemon roared as he extended out his claws, charging towards Salvia's pokemon.

"Hold it in place with Psychic," Salvia quickly instructed her pokemon to make a counter attack. With Gardevoir's eyes glowing blue a powerful blue aura surrounded the enemy's pokemon in place, with the battle heading towards the conclusion, a powerful roar echoed through the area, Salvia looked around wondering what was happening.

Hollow looked around to find out where the roar was coming from, "well it seems like you accidently called Dialga here," he stated while returning his focus back to the princess who was starting her search for the princess, "you know these pokemon defend their dimensions," Hollow informed the royal as a large blue, four legged pokemon appeared from another portal.

Salvia watched the large pokemon burst through the portal, in awe at the might of the pokemon it's red eyes soon beamed down towards her, she started to tremble in fear, "th-that is Dialga," Salvia placed her hands over her mouth in shock.

"Let's have a little more time talking about, how things haven't changed," Hollow grew in confidence, he formed a barrier preparing to show off the next image, starting with Salvia watching Ash's back, "you were always behind the eight ball, you were nothing special, in fact you are weak," Hollow explained to the princess who started to show signs of doubt creeping back into her mind.

"You're wrong, I am getting stronger, I have chosen my own path," the bluenette replied as she watched another image appear on the barrier.

Hollow watched the image, depicting the chosen path of the young royal, "is that so?" the Dark Aura Master questioned the royal, the image showing Salvia looking up at Ash with a glare of admiration, thinking of a new goal, "you couldn't come up with your own goal, so you're about to borrow, the goals of your best friend and that young man," Hollow laughed at the princess, ridiculing her for not having her own defined goal.

With Salvia's eyes widening, the large pokemon landed in front of Hollow, almost lost for words as the intimidating pokemon looked down at her, "your thoughts are easy to read, you want Ash around to bail you out, not like you could ever do that yourself, you had people bailing you out for your entire life," Hollow explained to the princess who was stepping back ready to hide from the powerful pokemon, "the sad part is princess, no one is here to help you, not even Ash," he reminded the blue haired royal.

Salvia lowered her gaze to the ground almost ready to cry, 'he is right, I have always had other people helping me out, Greed, Hilda, Hilbert, Dusk, Dawn and even Ash, maybe I am weak after all,' Salvia thought to herself, she closed her eyes and thought about her own past.

**(Flashback)**

Dawn walked up to the Salvia who was feeling anxious about the speech that she had to present, "what's the matter Princess Salvia?" Dawn asked her friend with a smile.

Salvia looked up to her friend and smiled, "nothing," Salvia replied, with a false smile.

"You lie," Dawn pointed to her friend, "I can see it, you're about to present a speech, yet you feel like you might not be able to do it properly," Dawn stated her friend's concerns.

"Am I that easy to ready?" Salvia asked the coordinator.

"Very much so, but no need to worry, I doubt Ash would ever be able to read you, he might be an Aura Guardian, but he is useless when it comes to figuring out how people are feeling," Dawn started laughing at the expense of her boyfriend.

"So Lady Dawn, your bond with Ash is so strong, yet you can tease him yet maintain your love for him," Salvia stated with a proud smile, "you radiate so much confidence, Ash seems to feed off that confidence," Salvia explained to her friend as she looked up to the sky.

"You kind of envy me don't you?" Dawn asked her friend, she watched the shocked expression of her friend and hit her right shoulder, "no need to worry," Dawn used her catchphrase again. She looked back to see Ash standing at the entrance of the palace, "not everyone is perfect, if you try too hard, you will only fall over, but there is something you need to know," Dawn informed the royal as she looked down to see Ash calling to Dawn.

"What is it Lady Dawn?" Salvia asked her friend.

"Never to give up, when you fall, you need to pick yourself up and keep trying, failure is a part of life," Dawn continued to give her form of wisdom to the princess, "no matter how many times you fail, you will learn where you went wrong and apply those lessons," Dawn finished as she turned away from her royal friend and nodded at her.

"Thank you Lady Dawn," Salvia thanked her friend with a broad grin.

Dawn halted and glanced over her left shoulder, "one more thing, if the odds are stacked against you, hold your head high and stand your ground, don't ever give up," Dawn advised her friend with a determined smile.

Salvia watched her friend leaving the palace, 'wow Ash, you have someone really special,' Salvia thought, witnessing the gates close behind her friends.

**(Return from Flashback)**

After hiding for a moment, Salvia stood up and exited her hiding place, 'I was running away, but now Lady Dawn's words continue to echo in my mind,' Salvia approached the battle again with her pokemon following her, she looked up to her foe and without hesitaition she signalled for another attack, "I am not backing away ever again! I am not going to have other people bail me out of anything ever again! I will follow the paths people have shown me and I will follow those paths my way!" Salvia yelled out her intentions as she watched her pokemon land a critical hit on the opposing pokemon.

"No way, she has gotten stronger," Hollow gritted his teeth, seeing that his pokemon was crashing in front of him.

"Don't doubt me, I will become stronger, I will no longer rely on others to pick me up when I am down," Salvia quickly turned her attention to the temporal pokemon.

'What, she is challenging Dialga to a battle?" Hollow watched the princess, but was soon met with a steely gaze, 'oh man, she isn't doubting herself,' Hollow thought to himself as fear started to settle into his mind, he started ti take steps back.

Salvia glanced over to the mighty pokemon of time yet again, she wasn't ready to give up, unflinching her psychic pokemon prepared herself for battle against the legendary pokemon, "their bond might be strong, but I will not give up, even if Ash and I end up alone, we will still go forward," Salvia informed the Dark Aura Master with great resolve she glanced over to her pokemon and signalled for another attack on the enemy.

"Pitiful, you think that Ash would give up on his love for another woman? Even though she is dead," Hollow snapped back in frustration.

Salvia shook her head and started to turn away from the foe, "I told you, I plan on going forward without regret, if Ash and I were never meant to be, then I will accept it, but I am not going to force Ash to forget about the person he has loved for a very long time," Salvia answered the Dark Aura Master.

"What if Ash impedes on the future you desire?" Hollow asked the princess, he started laughing as the princess glared at him without a hint of relent in her eyes.

"If Ash, stands in the way of me reviving the Sinnoh Kingdom," Salvia started her answer, she clenched her hands, looked back at the clock and smiled, "then he will leave me no choice, but to defeat him," Salvia finished her answer, turning to the Dark Aura Master with a confident smile, "but I seriously doubt Ash would ever get in my way, in fact, he would support me on my ambition to save Sinnoh," Salvia explained her resolve to Hollow as he burst out into laughter.

Suddenly another image appeared behind the royal, 'what that wasn't there before, it is different than the previous ones,' Hollow thought to himself as he watched a scene but before he could get the conclusion the image was enveloped in a bright light, he quickly turned to the princess, furious at the image, "you fight for nothing, yet you still want to forge your own path ahead," Hollow continued the mind games with the princess, "I seriously doubt the one you love would return those feelings, he wouldn't want someone who is weak," Hollow belittled the princess as he burst into laughter.

Salvia stopped and clenched her fists tightly, "have you said enough? Or do I have to make you shut up?" Salvia growled at her foe, turning her eyes to the Aura Master, she stared at him with great confidence, "if you cannot say anything intelligent, then don't say another word," Salvia hissed at her enemy.

"Big talk coming from…" the Aura Master started, but was stopped by a powerful burst of psychic energy, "so you do have some bite," Hollow whispered as the princess approached him.

Salvia walked up to Hollow as her pokemon held him up to the clock face, raising her right hand she slapped him causing a bright red hand mark to appear on his face, "Dark Aura Masters ha? Ash conquered his darkness, at least he maintained his true self, you playing these pointless mind games, I would have spared your life, but you have left me with no choice," Salvia turned away, a hint of disdain in her voice, she looked back as the Dark Aura Master tried to fight out of the Psychic hold, "Gardevoir, crush him with Psychic," Salvia instructed her pokemon with no amount of hesitation.

Hollow started to feel the power of the psychic based energy, "n-n…..nooo!"Hollow screamed out as he felt his bones breaking and the air being squeezed out of him by the psychic pokemon, "damn you princess! Damn you!" hollow yelled out as he started fading from the power of Salvia's pokemon.

"You left me with no choice, you're beyond redemption," Salvia reminded the Dark Aura Master as she noticed the light fading from his eyes, "rest in peace Dark Aura Master," Salvia wished her enemy, her blue eyes fixated on the powerful dragon, "my past was used against me Dialga, but no longer will it haunt me, Hollow promised to turn back the clock, I know that would be unnatural, so instead, I choose not to live in the past, but instead, I want to strive for a better future," Salvia explained her intentions to the powerful pokemon.

Dialga looked down and nodded at the princess, 'that wasn't part of the trial, but you have proven to me, that the past is a lesson that can push you to the future, Hollow wasn't going to be killed by such an attack, but what will happen, is he will be imprisoned for eternity,' Dialga informed the bluenette, the large blue, four legged pokemon let out a powerful bellow opening up a portal for the princess to return to her world.

"Thank you Dialga," Salvia bowed her head with a smile. She looked back at the severely injured man, thinking back to what she had seen, the past and a possible future which was cut off in the middle, 'maybe what I had seen was another possibility, one that Ash and I have to decide through our own journeys,' Salvia told herself as she turned away and started heading towards the portal.

'I saw into your future, do you want me to tell you what will happen?' Dialga asked the princess as she walked closer to the portal.

Salvia stopped at the legendary pokemon's words, "no Dialga, I want it to be a surprise," Salvia replied as she exited the time controlled world of Dialga, "a person's future isn't determined by what we are told or what we see, it is determined by the path we follow with the people we share our lives with, this is where the Dark Aura Masters and the Shadow Lords went wrong," Salvia explained to the legendary pokemon, she looked out to see Dusk, Hilda and Hilbert.

'Very well, and good luck,' Dialga flew away from the princess, wishing her well for the future, closing off any form of contact with the royal the dragon looked back to see the portal closing with Salvia watching it leave, 'I saw a bright future, after the darkness is finally gone, but very soon you will make a discovery that will help you become even stronger,' Dialga watched the time portal close before flying away.

In the real world Salvia looked around and spotted her friends, she noticed Dusk searching for the other Aura Master, "where is he?" Salvia asked with concern, she looked around for Ash who was still nowhere to be found.

"Seems like he is still stuck, he isn't allowed to die, well not until I kill him myself," Dusk clenched her fists angrily, she glanced over to the royal as she looked back to see her portal gone, "but I guess your boyfriend can live after this for now," Dusk promised the young royal.

"He isn't my boyfriend," Salvia denied quickly, with her face turning red, but also felt that Dusk was able to sense her feelings for Ash, 'it isn't like I can hide it from my friends, they all know except for Ash,' Salvia thought to herself as a smile graced her mouth, 'I know where my future rests now, so from now on I am going to make every effort possible to convey my feelings to Ash,' Salvia thought as she looked up to see the light piercing the sky causing it to change colour yet again.

"He better hurry up," Hilda gritted her teeth as fear started to run through her mind.

The group heard the bellows of the powerful pokemon, sending shockwaves towards the group, knocking them off their feet, they looked up in shock at the light growing larger, almost about ready to swallow them, "Ash," Salvia clasped her hands together, closing her eyes to prevent herself from being blinded by the light.

In the altered dimension Ash was searching for a way out until he came across a man with spikey blue hair wearing a white suite and black shoes, "well if it isn't my old foe from all those years ago," the man called to Ash.

"Cyrus, I thought you were taken into an alternate dimension," Ash immediately remembered the last time he saw the former Galactic leader.

"There is a lot that needs to be said, but let's sit down for a while," Cyrus informed Ash who was confused about his meeting with his former enemy.

* * *

**Salvia has made it out of her trap, now Ash will meet with Cyrus, what will Ash's trial be? And will he overcome it?**

**Next time chapter 27: Trials of Darkness**

**Good news my friends, one more chapter to be written, meaning that I will be releasing the rest very soon, oh and I am almost done with the epilogue of this story, so it is time to release some more chapters.**


	27. Trials of Darkness

**Chapter 27: Trials of Darkness.**

_**Summary: **__on his own Ash must face his past enemy as he decides his path from this trial onwards._

* * *

Cyrus walked up to a tree, leaning on the tree he looked up to the final platform that was to hold the powerful pokemon, "you know I have been stuck here for six years right, it has been my prison of sorts," Cyrus stated with a hint of disappointment, he closed his eyes thinking about his past sins, "I didn't hesitate to hurt people, in fact I didn't hesitate to kill others," Cyrus opened his eyes and focused on Ash.

"What are you getting at Cyrus?" Ash asked the former leader of team Galactic.

"How are my former comrades?" Cyrus asked the Aura Master.

Ash looked at the ground with a sigh, "haven't heard from them since the stunt you pulled," Ash replied quietly.

"I see, I also see that you're alone, the young girl that was always with you," Cyrus pointed out, but was quick to notice the sadness of the trainer, "something terrible happened, didn't it?" Cyrus asked the trainer with a concerned expression.

"Yeah, I rather not talk about it," Ash answered the former leader of Team Galactic, thinking back to her sacrifice.

"She gave her life to save you?" Cyrus asked the trainer, "I might not be an expert in all of this, but don't you think that the time for mourning is over?" Cyrus asked the trainer about his sadness, "how long has it been?" he continued to ask the raven haired man with a more serious expression.

Ash lowered his vision, his fists clenched in anger but with tears rolling down his face, "five months," he answered softly.

Cyrus turned around and looked up at the dark spot in the sky, "five months?" he asked himself as he glanced over his right shoulder, "no amount self-pity, asking yourself would could I have done differently, will bring the dead back," Cyrus wisely told Ash.

"Then what about past failures?" questioned the trainer who was still hurting from his own failure to save Dawn.

"Failure, something I know a thing or two about, the reason why I am here, is because my failures have hurt a lot of people, this punishment I rightfully deserve," the former leader of Team Galactic replied to Ash's question, "but as long as people learn from their own imperfections, then they can move forward without regret," the man with reminded Ash of the direction he needed to take, "I thought that being perfect was the only way for me to change the world, but my defeat by your hands with Dawn and Brock made me rethink my ideals."

Taking a deep breath Ash, watched the darkness grow from one of the platforms, "alright I guess I need to think about how I was acting recently, sure I have become more positive as a person, but I still wasn't able to through away the sadness that was taking hold," Ash explained to himself as he continued towards a tree not too far from where he was standing.

**(Flashback 5 years ago)**

Ash and Dawn walked into a large city with their friend Brock, "so this is Veilstone City," Ash placed is right hand over is eyes, coving from the glare of the sun.

"Alright you two, I will be going to do some shopping for supplies for our next stop," Brock informed his friends.

Dawn still reeling from the embarrassing defeat at the Hearthome Contest, "um Ash, I am thinking, do you think we can go to the Pokemon Centre?" the bluenette asked the trainer.

"Alright," Ash thought with a smile, he moved forward with Dawn close behind him, "you know Dawn, there were times when I would have thrown in the towel after being defeated like that," Ash informed the girl with a smile.

Dawn continued to follow Ash, not saying a word in response, 'how do I tell him?' Dawn started to question herself, she looked up at the trainer, not taking any heed at the person about to cross her path.

"Hey Dawn, stop moving for a moment," Ash instructed the bluenette, the person cross the path while Dawn watched in amazement, "you need to watch where you're going, this is a busy city from the looks of it," Ash chuckled, scratching the back of his head. After opening his eyes he looked down at the teenager, seeing that she had a clueless expression to his words, 'man, she is cute, oh crap, that's right I love her,' Ash thought to himself as he turned away from the blue haired girl, hiding his blush.

After making it to the medical facility Ash waited for Dawn to make it back out with her Piplup in her arms, "alright, I have a way to improve my contest chances," the confident girl stated, not taking any notice of Ash, who was sitting in across the main foyer.

"Hey Dawn, over here," Ash called to his travelling companion.

"You're still here?" Dawn asked her raven haired travelling companion.

Ash started laughing at the comment of the girl, "of course I am still here," Ash replied with a goofy smile. Ash looked down at his partner pokemon who was trying to encourage him, Ash refocused on Dawn who was sitting in front of him, "can I ask you something?"

"What is it?" Dawn asked in response, almost unsure of what she was about to hear from the trainer.

Gulping for a moment, Ash felt sweat rushing down his back, "I.I was just wondering, i-if," Ash struggled to string together a sentence, "w-w…..would you ever go on a date with me?" Ash finally finished his question.

Dawn stared in shock at the request, her face quickly turned red, her heart started racing at the date request with Ash, 'he asked me out, I don't believe this, does this mean that he loves me?' Dawn asked herself in amazement, still feeling like it was too good to be true.

**(Later that night)**

Ash and Dawn were walking back to the Pokemon Centre, holding hands, for the first time, laughing and enjoying the walk back, "we rushed the date for tonight, but I still had a great time," Ash informed his travelling companion with a proud smile.

"Yeah I know, I really enjoyed the food," Dawn replied happily, she grasped onto Ash's arm and leaned in onto his shoulder, "now I cannot feel nervous about telling you something important anymore," Dawn confessed as the two walked slowly together, "I love you Ash."

**(Return from flashback)**

Ash looked up to see a large grey pokemon appearing from the portal, with red eyes and a large set of skeletal wings, "Giratina," Ash whispered the pokemon's name.

"Yes something called it here, is something happening in the real world?" Cyrus asked the trainer.

Ash hesitated in his move to battle Giratina, 'so you are going to continue hesitating?' a voice echoed in his mind.

'Why are you still there?' Ash asked the voice.

'I never left, but you were the one keeping me here,' the darkness informed the Aura Master, 'maybe me testing you achieved nothing,' the darkness stated with a displeased tone.

Ash appeared puzzled by the remarks of the dark being, 'you were testing me?'

'Darkness isn't necessarily evil, it is only one side of the coin,' Ash's darkness informed him.

"Without one you cannot have the other," Ash whispered to himself.

'Exactly,' replied the dark voice.

'When I lost the person that made my day shine even brighter, I was wallowing in sadness, I was consumed by it, never thinking that I could have moved forward,' Ash reminded himself, angry at himself for showing weakness in his own character, 'it was unlike me, not something Dawn would have been proud of,' Ash stated to his darkness.

'You finally figured it out,' the dark figure appeared in front of Ash and Cyrus.

"How did that happen?" Cyrus asked the dark counterpart of Ash.

"You have been trapped here for the better part of six years and yet you know very little," Ash's dark counterpart stated with a sigh, he turned his back to Ash and started walking, "how about this?" the dark counterpart pointed to the centre of the dimension, "we battle, a one on one pokemon battle, a battle to the end," the darkness of Ash requested.

"One final trial," Ash whispered.

"My pokemon well," the darkness of Ash clicked his fingers, appearing in a puff of smoke was a small electric pokemon. Ash staggered back at the sight of the pokemon, in shock at the small yellow pokemon glaring at him, "oh right I forgot, you aren't able to move on, if you can defeat this illusion, then maybe we can deal with getting you to take the right path," he stated confidently

Ash and his Dark counterpart started leaving the area they started at, moving quickly to the centre of the anti-matter realm, they each took separate paths, Ash walked on the western wall, hearing the waterfalls crashing above him, but not a drop of water seem to fall on him, Ash glanced for a second on the eastern wall, seeing the dark counterpart with the Pikachu, 'just what is y dark counterpart planning?'

The time passed with the two look a likes making it to the chosen battlefield, above them was the portal for the renegade pokemon to appear, "now Ash I will be using this Pikachu, you will be battling with Lucario," the dark part of Ash informed the Aura master.

"Lucario?" Ash asked, he paused for a moment and grabbed the aura pokemon confines, he looked at the red and white device and gulped, "I thought I was going to choose whatever pokemon I wanted," complained the trainer with a sense of disdain.

Ash called out the fighting type pokemon, before Ash could start his command the electric type unleashed a powerful blast of electricity catching the two off guard, "no time waste Ash," the darkness of Ash decreed.

"Use Bone Rush to deflect the attack," Ash ordered his Lucario, forming a powerful bone staff, Ash's pokemon started to deflect the attack by spinning the staff around. After the attack vanished, the bone staff vanished allowing for Ash to regain a sense of composure in the battle, "alright, counter with Aura Sphere."

"Plikachu, use Iron Tail to slice it in half," Dark Ash ordered the electric mouse. As the blue orb got closer to the small pokemon, the yellow pokemon leapt up and spun around with a stiffened tail, slicing the attack in half. Each half went in separate direction causing parts of the land to fall away, "Pikachu, use Quick Attack," Dark Ash instructed the electric mouse to attack.

"Lucario dodge the attack, then use Bone Rush to knock Pikachu down," Ash called for the attack. His pokemon leapt into the air evading the attack, as Pikachu skidded towards Ash, he looked down at the pokemon and winced slightly, "no Lucario stop," Ash ordered his pokemon much to the shock of his opponent.

"What the hell are you doing?" the frustrated opponent asked the real Ash. Pikachu jumped back as the attack landed with a hint of hesitation, 'crap, I can see it in his aura, he is hesitant to battle his pokemon, might need to pull a trump card,' the dark counterpart thought to himself, he looked over to Ash and smirked at him, 'might need to play dirty,' he looked away with a hint of disdain, "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on Ash," Dark Ash ordered the pokemon.

Unleashing a powerful blast of electricity Ash refused to call for a defensive attack, taking the electricity Ash fell back towards the edge, "hey what are you doing? At least defend yourself!" Dark Ash yelled at the trainer.

Ash walked slowly back towards the battle, "I cannot attack Pikachu," Ash replied solemnly.

"So let me ask you something Ash, what do you fight for?" Ash's darkness asked the trainer seriously, watching the fighting type pokemon getting up slowly from the intense battle between him and the electric mouse.

"I am fighting for….." Ash started before being interrupted by an electric attack.

"That isn't a good enough reason!" the darkness of Ash snapped at him, "you forget that I know what you are thinking," telling the opposing trainer of their connection while hitting him with an electric attack by the smaller pokemon, "I want a genuine reason, not revenge or because you want to, something that I can consider genuine," Ash's shadow stated with anger.

"Lucario, attack now with," Ash hesitated with his command, he looked down at the grass on the ground as tears started to flow down his face, "attack now with Aura Sphere," Ash finally ordered his pokemon to attack.

"You need to better than that, Pikachu use Thunder to deflect the attack," Dark Ash issued his instruction, with a mighty cry Pikachu unleashed a powerful current towards the ball of Aura, this time causing the sphere to explode.

Before Ash could get his bearings, he watched in shock as the electric mouse burst through the smoke crashing into his pokemon with a thunderous Volt Tackle, "Lucario!" Ash yelled in disbelief.

"What's the point of you resisting if you don't have a damn reason to?" Dark Ash questioned the trainer, as the smoke clear, he noticed Ash rushing to his pokemon, "you want to defeat the Shadow Lords, yet you are also fighting yourself," the dark counterpart explained as he approached the trainer who was sliding back in fear, "why do you fight? Answer me, I know you have the answer," Dark Ash asked the trainer demanding for Ash to answer his question, showing a hint of frustration at the trainer's hesitation.

Slowly getting back to his feet, the trainer collapsed again, before the darkness started to swallow him, he closed his eyes, an image of Salvia appeared in his mind, 'Salvia,' Ash thoughts quickly turned to the times where she was encouraging him, helping him through his dark times and was there to provide him the light he needed, 'you were there when I needed you, even now,' Ash reminded himself as he pushed himself back to his feet.

'Has he found an answer?' Ash's darkness asked himself, seeing the trainer with a more serious expression, "well, you lack the energy to continue the fight, not only that you also have Willow you need to defeat."

"To keep the person who has saved me safe," Ash replied but was too quiet for his darker half, he looked up with determination.

"It is great you say that, but who?" Ash's darkness immediately questioned the young man.

"Salvia, she is the one I fight for, in fact I would die for her," Ash continued his answer, Ash looked up to see his darkness laughing at him, "what's so funny?" Ash shouted his question at his foe.

"Finally a positive answer and no excuses," the darkness of Ash continued to laugh, he walked up to the trainer and nodded at the illusion of the electric mouse.

Ash watched the small pokemon disappear, "why did you stop battling me?" the shocked man asked his dark counterpart.

The dark counterpart placed his right hand his Ash's shoulder and chuckled at the man, "because, you were too busy trying to get revenge, you should know, no matter how you seek revenge, it simply will not bring Dawn back, revenge clouded your vision" he turned towards the legendary pokemon, "even Giratina knows this, it wasn't getting involved in our battle because, maybe it sensed the pain you were still in," Ash's counterpart watched the rogue pokemon hovering closer to Ash.

"I see, so, you knew about it," Ash lowered his vision.

"Well it seems like it wants to challenge you to a battle, I am going to get some popcorn and enjoy the show," the dark counterpart vanished causing Ash to glow with a purple aura.

The renegade pokemon glanced at the trainer, "Garchomp, I choose you!" Ash yelled out for his pokemon, this time no hesitation became more obvious in his voice, 'my dark aura counterpart is right, I can no longer cling to the past, not now, since I have a future to fight for,' Ash admitted himself as his powerful dragon got ready to face off against his final trial of the alternate realm, "living in the past got me nowhere, now it is time for me to take a new direction, a direction that will lead me to the future," Ash declared as he gave a focused stare at the legendary pokemon, 'the road will be tough, but I will endure it,' Ash cracked his knuckles as his dragon type prepared to receive a , watching Ash ferociously commcommand.

Cyrus watched Ash preparing to battle against Giratina, he quickly noticed the determined expression on the trainer's face, 'when he was first here, he was ready to throw his life away, but now something has restored his confidence, this is great to see,' Cyrus thought to himself, witnessing the collision of the two powerful pokemon.

Garchomp slid back but was showing the same willpower as his trainer, Giratina fired a powerful Shadow Ball at the mach pokemon, "alright Garchomp, evade the attack," Ash quickly ordered his pokemon, with the shadowy orb crashed in front of Ash who was unflinching, "Garchomp, attack now with Dragon Claw," Ash quickly ordered his pokemon to counter attack.

Before Garchomp could land the attack Giratina vanished causing confusion between the trainer and his pokemon, Cyrus who was witnessing the battle between the two combatants, 'that's Shadow Force, but why are they both not countering?' Cyrus questioned the trainer who seemed calm and less rash.

'When Giratina emerges for the attack, I will make my own counter attack,' Ash started planning ahead, waiting for the renegade pokemon to rise up for the next attack. Giratina emerged from the shadows, Ash nodded at his pokemon allowing him to evade the powerful attack, "Shadow Claw now!" Ash called for the next attack without waiting.

His pokemon slashed down on the legendary with a shadowy claw, the two pokemon fell back, sliding back the mach pokemon used his claws to keep his balance from the ferocious attack and staring up at the more powerful pokemon, 'amazing Garchomp isn't holding anything back,' Cyrus continued to witness the battle.

"Garchomp we wait for a moment, then when the time it right we unleash a powerful Dragon Claw,: Ash whispered to his pokemon. Ash watched the legendary pokemon rushing towards his teammate, waiting for the right time to call for the attack.

Ash closed his eyes as the pokemon got closer to the, with Cyrus witnessing the trainer remaining calm, "amazing, it seems like he is calm, a little while ago he was all emotional, so I can assume something happened moments ago," Cyrus assumed watching the young man ferociously commanding his pokemon to attack the opposing legendary pokemon, 'something inspired him, but what, it wasn't just his dark counterpart,' Cyrus started to wonder what was really happening, "he said the name of the princess of this region, is she?" Cyrus started to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

"I have decided which road I will take, so no more beating myself up, I have blamed myself too much for what happened," Ash glared at the more powerful dragon type pokemon, Ash glanced over to his dragon type pokemon and nodded, "attack now with Dragon Claw."

Garchomp evaded two more powerful attacks on the way to completing his attack, slashing down on Giratina, dealing significant damage to the renegade pokemon, Ash watched as the two pokemon leapt back, panting from the powerful attacks landing, Ash with a smirk crossing his face, clenched his hands tightly as he continued to show even more excitement in the battle, "it has been over a year since I was involved in a pokemon battle, I am a little rusty," Ash chuckled, he paused as he thought about his journey throughout the pokemon world, "now I get it, I am such an idiot," Ash started laughing.

'He has stopped, but why?' the watching Cyrus started questioning the young man.

Ash cracked his knuckles and prepared to command his pokemon again, "I am tired of living in the past, there is only one way for me to go," Ash paused, his gaze fixed on his powerful dragon type pokemon, "forward!" Ash yelled out with great conviction, "Garchomp finish this battle with Dragon Rush," Ash called for what would be the final attack of the battle.

Giratina was slow to get up, looking up to see the powerful foe roaring as it started to gain an orange aura, charging towards it, it tried its best to get out of the way, but was soon tackled by the large blue dragon and his explosive attack, falling back down after the deadly attack.

Cyrus smiled with pride at the trainer, he watched as the raven haired man recalled his pokemon from the battle, "that was impressive, no wonder I was defeated all those years ago,"

Ash glanced back as the dragon nodded in acknowledgement, "you know Cyrus. It might have been six years, but now, I feel like going forward with my life, not clinging to the past," Ash told the Team Galactic leader with a smile, "that was something I was doing for the last few months," Ash promised the former leader of Team Galactic, Ash turned to find the dragon leaving him and heading towards his home in its world, 'Giratina thank you, you showed me the way I needed to go, so far so many people and pokemon have done that, I better not disappoint them,' Ash gratefully reminded himself as he looked back to see Cyrus kneeling down.

Cyrus grabbed his hat and placed it on his head, "there is one more thing," Cyrus started with a smirk.

Ash looked over to the portal leading back to the real world, he noticed the princess calling for him, "the princess right, after the Shadow Lords are defeated I will confess my feelings to her, but for now, I think it will be safer to keep it to myself, not that would work anyway, my friends all know that I am in love with Salvia," Ash chuckled as he turned towards the portal, walking back to his world, "what about you Cyrus?" Ash questioned the Team Galactic Leader.

"Me, I have committed way to many sins, I plan on being imprisoned forever, plus the real world doesn't suit me," Cyrus stated while disappearing from sight leaving Ash to figure out what he meant by sins, "just look after the princess, that is all you need to do," Cyrus's voice echoed from the distance.

"Thanks Cyrus," Ash thanked the Galactic leader, he exited the anti-matter realm and back to his friends, Salvia walked up to him with a relieved smile, "it seems like we overcame something today," Ash stated while avoiding eye contact with Salvia.

Salvia started to tear up, this time jumping into a tender embrace with the young man, "Ash, I was scared that I would lose you," Salvia stated with tears starting to stream down her face.

"How cute, but what you three have done was help me realise my mission, you three have awakened Arceus," a woman stated was an immense white pokemon with golden rings around it, she laughed at the trio as their friends stood behind them.

"Salvia, stay back, I will deal with this," Ash smiled at the young woman.

"You couldn't handle a Pidgey let alone a god pokemon, this remnant has made her choice, I am going to live the want to live, not being dictated by the memories of another person," Dusk started glowing with a purple aura.

Ash feeling upset with the young woman's comment towards him, "hey how did you know about the Pidgey?" Ash asked the female Aura Master.

"Well, you just admitted it," Dusk informed the trainer as she walked up to the more powerful pokemon.

"Well if you two are finished with your comedy routine, let's get your demise started," Willow called to the two Aura Masters.

Ash built up his aura and prepared to battle against the God of Pokemon, "Salvia go now, you too Hilda and Hilbert," Ash instructed the three royals, Ash glared with intent as the pokemon continued to break free into the world.

"I am not going!" Salvia angrily snapped back in anger.

"You will just get in the way!" Ash argued back leaving the young royal in shock at what she had heard, "plus, I don't want anything to happen to you," Ash stated as he watched the Dark Aura Master landing in front of him and Dusk, 'I don't want to lose another person I love,' Ash told himself as he stepped forward to face the enemy.

"He is right, you aren't strong enough to face this enemy, Hollow is nothing compared to Willow," Dusk reminded the princess, she quickly turned to Ash and started following him, "there is no way I will be out done by Ash," Dusk remarked with a hint of competitiveness in her voice.

* * *

**With the final showdown beginning the Dark Aura Master Willow has thrown down the gauntlet for the last clash with the other Aura Masters, will Ash and Dusk defeat a god? Or will they fall?**

**Next time: chapter 28: Last of the Darkness**

_Well the good news is, this story is almost finished, just 7 more chapters to write, 31-37 there are some that have been asking where is this story and where is that sroty, sadly my time is being drained in recent times meaning I cannot focus on fanfictions, so what I have done is started on new projects and continued on with others before releasing them so that way I can make release at later times, it doesn't mean I have abandoned them, it just means that I cannot release them all right away._

apologies for not releasing as often as I would like to, but they are being worked on, with new projects on there way, as well as projects from new franchises, like Gundam, Citrus (Saburo Uta) Kingdom Hearts. as well as Fracture for (Ash and Hilda) as well as the other stories which are getting worked on but not released.


	28. Last of the Darkness

**Chapter 28: Last of the Darkness.**

_**Summary: **__Dusk and Ash are left to face both the leader of the Dark Aura Masters and the god of pokemon, but when things go from bad to worse they are saved by someone they never expected._

* * *

"No Ash, I will not leave you," Slavia argued with the raven haired man, stomping her foot on the ground in defiance of the trainer's wishes, she glared at the man, but he remained calm and unmoved by the intentions of the blue haired royal.

"This is too dangerous, think about your kingdom, you want to save it, then save yourself," Ash retorted, he turned away from the young royal who was about to break down, "I know, you want to prove to everyone that you are strong, but if you stay here, you will only get hurt," Ash explained while the grew more upset.

"Alright, but you come back safely," Salvia requested of the Aura Master, she shot her gaze at the doppelganger, tears now streaming down her face, "please promise that he will not die," Salvia made the other bluenette promise, she nodded and turned to Ash who was charging up his aura.

"Come on," Hilda led her friend away, Salvia looked back once more, knowing that this might be the last chance she would see Ash.

Salvia glanced over her right shoulder, Ash and Dusk charged towards the Dark Aura Master, as she walked away from the battle, her eyes fixed on Ash, as his fist was caught by Willow, 'please Ash, make it back to me safely,' Salvia thought to herself as the ground started to shake violently from the impacts of the fight.

"So you send away whatever chances you had of victory, in fact if you all attacked me at once, you all would have overwhelmed me," Willow explained to Ash and Dusk, she formed a dark ball of aura before pushing it into Ash, then punching the female Dark Aura Master, "you two are almost out of aura," she whispered, a confident smirk ran across her face.

"Yeah, but there is no way I am going to let you defeat us, I made a promise," Ash replied with a smirk, he got up slowly and started laughing, "if that is the best you've got, you might as well surrender," Ash taunted the enemy.

"Why you little bastard," Willow growled at the trainer, she rushed towards him, unleashing a powerful flurry of punches and kicks at Ash, to which he dodged the angry attacks.

Dusk watched Ash dodging the attacks, assessing the situation, 'that's it her weakness,' Dusk thought to herself with a smirk.

"Oh come on, surely the leader of the Dark Aura Masters is stronger than this, or are you as weak as the other two?" Ash continued to taunt the woman, he continued to the powerful attacks as they became more reckless, 'her aim is right off,' Ash thought to himself, but before he could finish the assessment, he slid back after taking a powerful kick from the foe, 'but when she is able to calm down, that is when her attacks become more potent,' Ash finished his assessment of the first exchange.

"So you noticed the same thing I have?" Dusk asked her rival about the foe they were facing.

Ash stood up and nodded, "yeah, when she get's insulted she loses focus, this prevents her from landing her attacks properly, but when she regains her composure, she is a potent all-round attacker, but she also lacks a defence," Ash explained to the female Aura Master.

But as the two were about to start the plan of attack, a large white, four legged pokemon with a golden formation of circle landed behind their foe, "alright Dusk what do we do about Arceus?" Ash asked the bluenette.

"Well then you be the decoy, I have unfinished business with Willow," Dusk allowed her Aura to radiate more violently, "plus there is something I need Arecus to do for me, so try not to kill it," Dusk instructed Ash about his fight with the god of Pokemon.

"Kill it? No chance of that happening, I might end up getting killed myself," Ash joked with the female Aura Master, the powerful pokemon formed an orange sphere before it exploded sending streaks of energy crashing onto the ground around Ash and Dusk, the two started dodging each of the attacks.

Willow pushed through the dust and knocked Ash down, she got back up and kicked the distracted Dusk, the two were soon separated from each other allowing for Arceus to focus on Dusk who performed a series of flips. Willow turned to Ash and while he was down she kicked him in the stomach, causing him to gasp for air, "you know what the sad part is Aura Master? You won't be a live when I hunt down your friends, kill the princess and take over this rotten world," Willow informed Ash with a smirk.

Gasping for Ash blocked the next kick and tripped the Dark Aura Master, Ash quickly got back to his feet and watched his foe following suit, he blocked another punch from the Dark Aura Master, this time creating a powerful shockwave that sent parts of the remains of the sky pillar off the summit, "still don't believe you think you can win," Ash gritted his teeth, reminding his enemy of the situation, the two opponents jumped back as the Aura started to destroy parts of the Sky Pillar.

"Don't think you will survive this," Willow informed Ash, she rushed towards the raven haired trainer with her aura bursting out of her body.

"I won't be giving up either," Ash charged towards the woman, his Aura starting flare out, the two punches collided causing the mountain to shudder violently, 'if this keeps up, Celestic Town will get buried,' Ash fell back, now trying his best to hold back from using any more aura based attacks.

Willow started laughing at the Aura Master who was lowering his aura, "oh so you care about the people, so much so, that you wouldn't let them get buried," Willow started taunting the young man.

Ash stood his ground as the woman charged at him once again, Ash blocked the attack with his left arms while the aura from the woman caused his arm to tingle, 'oh man, this is insane,' Ash leapted back, but was soon thrown of balance by Willow who was rushing towards him with another powerful attack, without thinking Ash charged up his aura to defend himself, causing a crater to form around him as the auras collided.

Ash and Willow leapt back as the aura exploded, 'what are you doing? If you want to save this kingdom and this world you better stop holding back," A voice started criticizing Ash.

'You again, I thought I defeated you,' the young man snapped back furiously.

'Don't think that all darkness is evil,'' the voice echoed in the Aura Master's head.

Ash watched the woman charging towards him with another powerful burst of aura, Ash instinctively built up a wall of aura to prevent his enemy from landing the attack successfully, "I will not be beaten," Ash allowed for his dark aura to counter the foe.

"I thought you were too afraid to use it," Willow taunted the trainer, smirking at him but the smile was soon wiped away as she noticed the control he was showing over the dark aura, 'wait a second, this dark aura is different,' Willow thought to herself, in shock at the power that was emanating from Ash.

'Finally, you have decided to use the darkness the way you should, I guess you won't be needing me anymore,' the voice reminded Ash, leaving him to fight the battle against the Dark Aura Master, 'goodbye Ash,' the dark variation farewelled the trainer.

"This fight ends here!" Ash used his aura to push the woman away from him.

Willow cleaned up some of the blood and looked up in shock at the power that Ash had shown, 'impossible, he was in full control, four days ago he couldn't control it,' the Dark Aura Master gasped, horrified that Ash had gained not only the control over the dark aura, but the fight as well. But as the fight was about to get restarted Dusk landed in front of Ash with the legendary pokemon hovering overhead, "even if you do have control over the dark aura, Arceus is still much more powerful than you," Willow stated with a confident tone, she stood up and watched the alpha pokemon charging up for another powerful attack.

"Are you alright Dusk?" Ash asked the bluenette, but the question was ignored with Dusk charging towards her foe, with no hesitation in her resolve she prepared to kick the Dark Aura Master with all her power.

"You're going down!" Dusk kicked the leader of the Dark Aura Master, after she slid back after taking the vicious attack Willow watched with pride that Dusk was now taking a boxer's stance, "you taught me a bit of boxing, now I am going to beat the crap out of you," Dusk charged up her aura, she rushed towards her foe and started hitting her with a powerful flurry of punches.

'Enough!' Arceus yelled out, using a powerful Earthquake to knock the people off their feet.

Ash and Dusk now standing back to back, watched as the powerful foes were getting ready to start another powerful attack, "so how much aura do you have left?" Dusk asked the trainer, panting after defending herself from the deadly attack.

Ash scanned the surrounding area, the enemies walking in closer, "well I have my dark aura reserves, but other than that, I would say sixty percent remaining," Answering the question with a smirk, he looked back and smiled at the ally, "how about you?"

"Well I wouldn't say I am in good shape, I have been on the defence for most of this stupid fight, slightly injured and down to about thirty five percent, and quickly dropping," Dusk replied with a tired expression, the two started laughing at the situation they were finding themselves in, Arceus used a powerful blast of electricity knocking Ash and Dusk off their feet, 'I can barely move now,' Dusk thought as her right arm started fading, Dusk noticed the faded arm and tried to hide it, 'what? What's going on?' Dusk asked herself as fear started to creep across her face, but was soon relieved that her right arm was now solid.

"Hey are you alright?" Ash asked the Aura Master.

"I didn't ask for your concern, concentrate on saving this region," Dusk snapped at the her rival with an angered tone.

"Wow, you're still a bitch when it comes to other people being concerned about you, no wonder why you don't have friends," Ash continued to criticize the blue haired Aura Master, he quickly shot his vision back towards the god of pokemon and the Dark Aura master, "well let's just say, that Pikachu's electric attacks were nothing compared to that, I lost a huge chunk of my remaining Aura," Ash remarked with a laugh.

"Arceus finish them off," Willow ordered the powerful pokemon, the legendary pokemon glared at the woman, but still continued to attack the opposing trainer, 'I better have this fight finished soon, I don't know how much longer I can control Arceus,' Willow thought to herself, witnessing the power of the alpha pokemon on full display, the power of Judgement was wearing down both Aura Masters.

Salvia continued to hear the rumbles of the fight raging on, she walked slowly with her friends, thinking about her promise to everyone, 'first mom, then dad,' Salvia thought as she closed her eyes picturing Ash with a smile, nodding at her.

Salvia stopped walking, something that Hilda was first to notice, "what's the matter?"

Salvia opened her eyes and looked back, "I am going back," she answered her friend.

"What? That's crazy!" Hilbert yelled out his dissatisfaction.

"I am sick of seeing the people I love dying on me," Salvia turned towards the Sky Pillar.

Hilda now in shock at the confession of her friend, she proudly smiled at the princess, "what did you just say?"

Salvia was about to start walking, but waited for a moment, "I love Ash," she replied to her friends.

Hilda sighed for a moment, while Hilbert shook his head, still in disbelief in his friend as the cave started to shake from the battle, "we cannot linger here, we need to head to Celestic Town," Hilbert stated the situation to his wife and friend.

"Alright Salvia we will be waiting for you, bring him back to Celestic Town," Hilda encouraged her friend, Salvia nodded and ran off back to the battle, "you might be thinking Hilbert, why did I let her go?" she asked her husband with a sense of pride.

"Because we couldn't stop her, even if we wanted to," Hilbert answered solemnly.

"Exactly," Hilda replied, the two walked towards the entrance taking a separate from the path the princess was taking, "how can we argue with her? She said it herself," Hilda questioned herself about the determination of the princess.

Meanwhile at the battleground, Ash and Dusk leapt back avoiding the attacks of Willow who getting more frustrated in the plans of the two allies, "stand still losers," Willow angrily criticised the foes, Arceus prepared another attack as the area around the pokemon started to shatter around it.

"Ok, so we are pretty much in trouble, one more would be a problem," Ash joked as he was avoiding the attacks of Willow, he watched as she changed her target to Dusk who was caught off guard by the Dark Aura Master, Ash looked up to see Arceus' attack swallowing the sky, Ash gulped while the ground started to shake around him.

"What are you doing? You idiot, stop Arceus from its rage," Dusk growled a the trainer.

Getting ready to fire its attack forcing Ash and Dusk were waiting for the attack to come, their eyes shut, the large pokemon prepared the attack and aimed it at the two Aura Masters, 'this will end it,' Arcues decreed.

"This will end nothing Arceus, you will stop!" Salvia demanded the alpha pokemon to cease its attack, the enormous pokemon formed a bright orange sphere above its head, "I am the future queen of Sinnoh Arceus and I order you to stop right now!" Salvia demanded with great courage.

'I am the god of pokemon, no one will order me around!' Arceus furiously informed the princess, it fired the attack, splitting in multiple streaks of energy, 'even if you are the future queen of this region,' Arceus stated, looking down to see a green barrier, 'what she called out her pokemon that quickly,' Arceus noticed the Gardevoir standing next to Salvia, quick to notice the determined expression on Salvia's face.

Ash looked up to see Salvia standing in front of him , "I told you to head back to the town," Ash told the princess off, but was soon smiling at the determination of the bluenette, "thanks for saving us," Ash showed more gratitude to the princess.

"Yeah what he said," Dusk replied trying her best to hide her gratitude.

The trio watched the barrier fall to the ground, Salvia glanced to her pokemon, "Gardevoir, attack Arceus with Psychic." Salvia ordered her pokemon to attack the alpha pokemon.

"Oh no you don't!" Willow charged towards the princess.

Dusk rushed towards Willow, tackling her to the ground, "you will not hurt Salvia," Dusk growled at the woman, she stood up and watched Arceus easily break away from the attack from the psychic type.

Salvia watched the powerful pokemon readying another attack, she clenched her fists while Ash was getting up slowly, feeling the effects of the prolonged fight against the Dark Aura Masters and defending himself from the deadly attacks of Arceus. Ash grinned at the princess who wasn't backing down from the prospect of another attack from the powerful pokemon, "Arceus, don't underestimate me," Salvia instructed the powerful pokemon, she signalled for another attack with her pokemon, this time sending out a powerful barrage of colourful leaves at the intended target.

"She didn't even yell out her command," Ash whispered, his curiosity soon turned to admiration for the princess, 'a while ago, she would hesitate, now she is challenging the god of pokemon,' Ash noted the changes in the young royal.

'Backing away is not an option, I am here now, so I cannot show Ash how scared I am,' Salvia reminded herself as she felt her hands shaking in fear.

Arceus shrugged off the powerful Magical Leaf and charged towards the princess' pokemon, 'how dare you hit me!' the alpha pokemon's rage grew.

"Double Team now Gardevoir," Salvia commanded her pokemon. The embrace pokemon split into more copies of herself as the opposing pokemon got closer.

Ash tossed out his pokeball, "you aren't hurt my princess!" Ash yelled out in anger, "Lucario Aura Sphere!" Ash yelled out his command, the aura pokemon formed a large ball of aura, tossing it at the mighty Arceus, the attack crashed into Arceus, allowing Ash to get to Salvia's side.

"Again with the my princess?" Salvia joked a little, she looked up to see the intimidating pokemon preparing an attack on the two standing in front of it, a powerful attack was sent careening into the two people their pokemon defended their respective trainers causing a powerful explosion that sent Dusk and Willow flying into different directions.

"So, what do we do to calm Arceus down?" Ash asked the bluenette.

Salvia turned her attention to Ash and smiled at him, "no idea, just winging it at this stage," Salvia replied to Ash.

"What? You are winging it at the moment? You have to be kidding me!" Ash replied in a shocked tone, he watched the dust clearing as the god of pokemon prepared another deadly attack, seeing the attack rushing towards them, "follow my lead, Lucario use Aura Sphere," Ash commanded both his pokemon and Salvia to go in for the attack.

"Use Magical Leaf with Lucario's attack," Salvia explained her attack choice to her pokemon.

'You will never defeat me!' Arceus reminded the two as their attacks combined into one, with the two attack crashing into one another, a powerful explosion the barrier protecting the two people cracked causing Ash and Salvia to be exposed to the explosion's shockwaves.

Salvia noticed what was going on and without thinking she stood in front of Ash, frozen on the spot Ash watched Salvia fall to the ground, 'no, not again,' Ash fell to the ground next to the princess.

Arceus looked down to see Ash kneeling next to the princess with a saddened expression on his face it, the alpha pokemon allowed the next attack to shrink, 'I see, so you would stand against the god of pokemon,' Arceus started questioning the two people allowing his attack to finally evaporate, he turned away before having a rock thrown at its head, the powerful pokemon looked back to see Willow panting from the fight.

"Where are you going? I command you," the Dark Aura Master informed the alpha pokemon of the situation.

"Willow this fight is over, you lost," Dusk limped towards the Dark Aura Master, grasping her side she looked over to Ash and Salvia, who were on the ground.

'She will be fine the injuries aren't fatal,' Arceus told the trainer, it glanced at the last remaining Dark Aura Master forming an orb around the young woman, 'I will be imprisoning you forever,' Arceus informed the enemy with a sense of disdain.

Ash watched Willow disappearing in the light, hovering up into the next dimension with Arceus following it, 'by the way, is there something I can help you with?' Arceus asked the two people.

Dusk looked at the ground, "I am only a remnant of other people's auras," Dusk stated with a frown, she looked up to the pokemon, her face showing a greater amount of determination, "I want you to make me a fully-fledged human," Dusk informed the legendary pokemon.

'Are you sure? You will lose a majority of your power, you will lose most of your memory, you risk not even knowing the people next to you,' Arceus asked the Aura Master.

Dusk looked over to her friends and smiled at them, "I will not lose the memories of my friends, but I don't want memories of people whom I have never met, but I also want to maintain the memories of a person known as Dawn," Dusk informed the god of pokemon with a smirk, she started to glow blue as the plates emerged from the legendary pokemon.

'Very well then, with the Fist Plate, the Mind Plate, the Splash Plate, the Zap Plate and the Draco Plate, they will be the pillars that will turn you away from being a pure Aura Being,' Areus started glowing as the plates followed the pokemon in the flash of light, the plates spun around the Aura Master before another burst of light engulfed the young woman.

Ash watched while holding Salvia in his arms, "what is she going to achieve?" Ash asked himself, he looked down to see the princess slowly waking up from the last attack of the battle.

The blue aura of Dusk leapt away from the light signifying her complete change, Dusk emerged from the light as the plates returned to Arceus, Dusk looked up to see the pokemon leaving the ruined area, "Ash, Salvia, it seems to have worked," Dusk informed the trainer, but soon noticed that the princess was still out of commission.

"I don't sense the strong aura from you," Ash commented leaving Dusk with a smile, she clenched her fists, "you knew this didn't you?" Ash asked the young woman.

"Knew what?" Dusk asked the trainer with a curious expression.

"You don't remember being an Aura Master?" Ash asked the former Aura Master.

"Not like I would ever forget that, let's get out of here," Dusk replied leaving Ash stunned that she would pull a joke on him, 'I need to search for the three pokemon of the lake to make the transformation complete,' Dusk thought to herself, proud of her new self, 'I can be Ash's rival and I can be his friend for many years, but for some reason, I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders,' Dusk watched the last remaining Aura Master picking up the princess.

Ash carrying the blue haired royal left the area and headed towards the cave, slowly the trainer carefully walked, 'I cannot believe my life was saved again,' Ash thought with a smile, he watched the princess waking up, she looked up to see Ash walking through a dark cave, "good morning," Ash joked, he looked down at the royal and smiled at her.

Wincing in pain the princess moved her right hand slowly towards Ash's face, 'he is carrying me,' the princess thought as she felt her face heating up, "am I dead?" Salvia asked the trainer.

"No Salvia, you aren't," Ash answered softly, Ash continued slowly not noticing the Sinnoh Royal moving her arms over Ash's shoulders.

**(3 days later)**

Ash was sitting in the Pokemon Centre, he watched the recovering princess walk into the main foyer with the help of her friends, 'there is still one unfinished task, Pride and Sloth,' Ash thought to himself, his thought quickly changed to the princess thinking back to when she saved him from the explosion, 'I cannot believe she saved me, I haven't even thanked her yet, man I feel like a jerk,' the raven haired trainer started to scold himself for his lack of gratitude.

"Yo Ash," a male voice called out to the trainer.

Ash looked up to see Hilbert approaching him, he grabbed a seat and sat opposite him, "hey Hilbert," Ash greeted the brown haired king of Unova.

"It has been three days since the situation at Mount Coronet and there is one thing that I have noticed," Hilbert pointed out with a cheeky smirk.

Ash grabbed a fork and started eating, it wasn't long before he turned his eyes to Salvia who was walking towards the café, "what are you talking about," Ash continued to keep his eyes on Salvia.

"There you're doing it again," Hilbert continued to notice the actions of his friend, "you're staring at the princess, you have done that for three days," Hilbert informed the trainer.

"No I am not!" Ash quickly denied the claim, he looked back at his food, continuing to eat his lunch, 'man, I cannot show him,' Ash tried to prevent himself from looking again, but the resistance was gone, he turned to look over his shoulder yet again.

Hilbert burst out into laughter, watching his friend keeping his eyes glued on the royal, "so when do you plan on telling her?" Hilbert asked the raven haired man with a knowing grin, he towards the princess, "I can easily read you Ash, she means a lot to you," Hilbert whispered as he turned to Ash who was still focusing on the princess and ignoring everything else around, even Hilbert, 'man this guy is impossible, he needs to tell her, geez,' Hilbert started complaining within his mind.

"Do you mind if I deal with this on my own?" Ash requested, finally responding to his friend calmly.

"Of course, this is after all something you need to deal with," Hilbert agreed with his friend, getting up he walked away from the table, "but don't expect your other friends to let this slide, they also know how you feel about Salvia as well," Hilbert warned the raven haired Aura Master with a concerned tone, "this small conversation, I will keep it between you and me, but please don't hide it from Salvia for too long," Hilbert requested with a nod, he left the area leaving Ash alone to think about the prospect of confessing to Salvia.

After Hilbert walked away Hilda walked up to Ash, "I don't know which is worse, the fact that you are so obvious, or maybe the fact that you're oblivious," Hilda informed Ash, she walked around the table as Ash watched her, "ok forget I said you were oblivious, but you and Salvia are two of the easiest people to read, and the worst part about it is, you two cannot figure out what the other is thinking, you're an Aura Master and yet, you cannot figure out what Salvia is thinking," the burnette criticized Ash for his lack of attention.

Ash stared at the empty plate, "I don't want to," Ash replied with a frown, he took a deep breath. Ash leapt out of his seat and started walking towards the exit, before leaving the medical facility Ash took one more look at the princess, watching her talking to their friends, she was completely unaware that Ash was staring at her.

While her friends were talking Salvia moved her eyes to the entrance of the Pokemon Centre, "so what should I get Ash for Christmas?" Salvia asked out loud catching all her friends by surprise.

"You just changed the topic Salvia," Greed replied with a chuckle.

"I did?" Salvia retorted with an embarrassed expression, she glanced at the entrance, "so what were we talking about again?" Salvia started spacing out, her friends exchanged glances then turned to look at the princess.

Greed noticed the Unova queen walking up to the rest of the group, "why not convey your feelings to Ash?" the Shadow Lord enquired.

"How about a Secret Santa? Hilda suggested with a smile.

"Not a bad idea," Hilbert replied happily.

"Count me out," Greed replied with a frown, shrugging his shoulders he left the group.

Hilda and Hilbert left the group to prepare the event. After minutes had passed the two Unova royals returned with the names in a bucket, everyone had picked the names out of the hat, leaving only Ash and Salvia to pick the names, Hilda called Ash over to select the name out of the hat, 'not like it would be a secret anyway, I had to rig it so Ash would be getting for Salvia and vice versa,' Hilda watched her friends picking the names out of the hat.

"Hey, come here for a moment," Hilbert called to his friend.

"Fine, I will pull a name out of the hat," Ash retorted with a hint of sarcasm. Entering the Pokemon Centre again he placed his name in the hat, taking one of the slips, he unfolded the piece of paper and silently read the name to himself. Ash turned away with the slip in his hands, 'I got Salvia,' Ash thought to himself in shock.

Meanwhile Salvia placed her hand in the hat grabbing the last slip of paper, "I wonder who I got," the excited princess started to unfold the paper. Upon unfolding the paper, she gasped in shock, 'me getting something for Ash? What do I get him?' Salvia questioned herself, she glued her blue eyes on Ash and remained silent.

"Good luck getting your presents," Hilda rushed away from the Pokemon Centre, with her friends she glanced back to see her two shocked friends, now refusing to look at one another.

* * *

**Well Ladies and Gents the chapter brought on the Christmas season in the story, just what gifts will they get for one another?**

**Next time chapter 29: Painfully Obvious.**

amazing news guys, I have finished the main story here, every chapter except for the epilogue has been completed, now to release every chapter written in this story


	29. Painfully Obvious

**Chapter 29: Painfully Obvious**

_**Summary: **__the other characters see it, but Ash and Salvia don't this light hearted chapter gets the support characters to try and get Ash and Salvia to confess their feelings for one another with hilarious results._

* * *

With the Dark Aura Master defeated Ash and Salvia started walking around the historical sights of the small town, it was quiet, with the people that had helped them in the last fight watching the duo, Greed shook his head in disbelief, "alright guys time for an emergency meeting," Greed informed the four people around him.

"Yeah that's right," Dusk answered back.

Hilbert looked over to the duo then returned his focus back to his friends, "I don't like where this is going," Hilbert started to complain about where this was heading.

"Oh come on Hilbert, this is a matter of life and death," Hilda tried to assure him. They watched as the two started walking through the town, "there is obviously something going on between the two," Hilda stated with a cheeky grin.

"Yeah, that's right, it also seems like they are getting closer," Greed informed the group.

"But shouldn't we let them find out for themselves?" Hilbert asked his friends.

"They have had plenty of time, they are both oblivious to one another's feelings for one another," Dusk argued with Hilbert's concerns.

"Exactly, so today, we all must try our best to get those two to confess their feelings," Hilda stated as Greed cheered loudly at the suggestion. Hilda placed her arms around the Hilbert and Dusk, the four huddled together to start whispering their plan, "so we all know that Ash and Salvia are in love with one another, but they don't say it, in fact they are oblivious," Hilda whispered as she looked over to Greed who was nodding in approval.

"How about we separate them for now? Try and talk to them about it," Hilbert suggested while Dusk scoffed at the idea of pulling them apart. Dusk glanced over her shoulder and noticed that Ash and Salvia were no longer in the area.

"Oh shit they aren't here," Dusk hissed, she ran off to find her friends, she quickly turned to her allies and smirked at them, "don't get the wrong idea, I still want Ash dead," Dusk cheerfully confessed her interest in destroying the new Aura Master.

"Wait Dusk, what about making a plan?" Hilda asked the bluenette.

"You can sort it out on your own," Dusk quickly answered the brunette. She ran off leaving the other four to deal with the situation, 'I have my own plans,' Dusk reminded herself as she

"You know, I am going to watch this from a distance," Hilbert stated as he walked away from the group, knowing that not everything was going to go the way they wanted it to. Hilbert left the group of friends alone, he looked back to see them in a huddle.

Ash and Salvia walked through the streets, surrounded by the snow that had fallen during the fight they had against the Dark Aura Masters, "I am going to go out of the town for a little while," Ash avoided eye contact with the princess

Salvia watched the back of the trainer and started to wonder what her other friends were planning, she knew it was also a great time for her to get Ash a present as well, sadly the shops in the town were busy and she didn't want to get caught up in the busy shopping spree, "this sort of thing isn't my style," Salvia told herself, seeing the number of people increase inside the shops, she pulled out her only empty pokeball and stared at it for a moment.

"So Princess, what are you thinking of getting Ash for Christmas?" Hilda asked her blue haired friend.

Salvia quickly turned to her friend, "Hilda, I thought you were….." Salvia started to comment, but was quickly interrupt by the brunette.

"You cannot hide it from your friends anymore," Hilda informed the princess.

"What can I not hide from you guys?" Salvia questioned the queen of Unova.

"We have known for nearly a month princess, you're in love with Ash," Hilda immediately replied causing the princess to step back, her face soon turned bright red at the assumption of her friend, "your face says it all," Hilda pointed at her friend.

Salvia looked at the snow covered streets and let out a sigh, "so you have known all this time," Salvia whispered, she looked around to find that Hilda was the only one around, she looked up and felt the hands of her friend resting on her shoulders, "I don't know if Ash feels the same way," she stated, she quickly turned away not allowing her friend to answer. Salvia glanced back, still trying her best ot hide her very obvious blush.

"Amazing, she didn't even deny it either," Hilda whispered to herself, she started to follow her friend, 'hope the others are having a bit more luck,' Hilda starting thinking about her friends that were going to meet with Ash.

Ash walked to the lakes west of Celestic Town, the thick fog made it difficult to see, but was having hard time focusing on the plan he had, he quickly looked over his shoulder, immediately knowing that he wasn't alone, "you know Greed and Paul, it isn't nice to follow me around without me even knowing it, or almost not knowing it," Ash smirked at his friends.

Greed and Paul emerged from the fog, "so we can't cannot hide from the Aura Master," Greed replied with a hint of sarcasm.

"So you can sense our aura, then what about Salvia's aura?" Paul asked his former rival.

Ash gulped at the question, "I am a little afraid of finding out what she is thinking, so I choose not to read her aura," Ash replied softly.

"Wow, you're going to have to gather some courage," Paul teased his friend, Ash grabbed his fishing rod and cast it out, "what are you doing?" Paul asked curiously.

"Getting Salvia a Christmas present," Ash answered calmly.

Greed watched his friend trying to get the pokemon, a small blue pokemon with a spiral pattern was reeled in, but Ash instantly released it, "is there a specific pokemon you're after?" Greed asked the trainer, but was ignored by the Aura Master, the two friends watched Ash reel in another pokemon this time a fish like pokemon with a horn protruding from its head coloured white and orange, "that would be a nice pokemon for her, a Goldeen," Greed stated but witness Ash releasing the pokemon back into the water.

"Can I be left alone?" Ash asked the men, wanting to focus on getting the pokemon of choice.

Greed turned away from Ash and started walking, he paused and glanced over his right shoulder, "you cannot hide it from us, we already know about your feelings for Salvia," Greed whispered to his friend, he walked away leaving Ash to stare out into the distance.

'Damn you Greed,' Ash's hand shook, he pulled the string out of the water and placed the rod on the ground next to him, Ash looked to the left and sensed another person in the area, "you know Hilbert, it isn't nice to eavesdrop on other people," Ash called to his friend from Unova.

"Yeah I know, but don't worry, I am not here to force you into anything," Hilbert replied with a smile, he walked up to the lakefront and sat next to his friend, "can I ask you something?"

Ash picked up the rod after regaining some of his composure, "what is it Hilbert?" Ash asked the king.

"Why haven't you said anything to the princess?" he asked the raven haired trainer.

Ash took a deep breath and cast the fishing rod again, "because of Pride, he knows full well how to get to me," Ash replied with a frown.

"So, Salvia is your biggest weakness," Hilbert placed his hand over his chin, he started thinking about his own past, remembering what it was like when Team Plasma was causing trouble for him, "you know Ash, I know what you are going through," Hilbert confessed to Ash about his past problems.

"You do?" Ash asked quietly.

Hilbert nodded and looked out to the lakes, "yeah, it was when I was facing off against Team Plasma, when Hilda was in danger, I had to face them alone to save her, at first I didn't think much of her, but as our journey progressed," Hilbert started to get a little embarrassed.

"You're right, honestly when I first saw the Princess again I didn't think much of her because she has the same appearance as my first love," Ash started laughing, pushing his friend aside, the two continued to laugh until Ash felt a tug on the rod, "this is it….I hope," Ash stated as he struggled to reel in the pokemon, he stood up and pulled the rod back, trying with all his might to get the pokemon to come out of the water.

Ash continued to struggle but Hilbert tried to help him get the pokemon out of the water, "no this is my task," Ash snapped at his friend, Ash watched as a serpentine like pokemon appeared from the watery depths, "that's what I was after for her," Ash declared as he made a bigger effort to bring the pokemon closer, using his left hand Ash pulled out a pokeball containing his Lucario, "Lucario, I choose you," Ash called for the aura pokemon to stand and fight.

"That is a rare pokemon," Hilbert watched Lucario perform a weak Dragon Pulse, 'it isn't like him to hold back against his opponent,' Hilbert noted the weakened attack, but it still did significant damage, the power of the attack was enough to send part of the body of water into the air.

Ash remained standing as the water rained down, "now hit it lightly with Bone Rush," Ash ordered his pokemon, the fighting type pokemon formed a bone staff, he charged towards the dragon type pokemon and proceeded to hit the pokemon with a sudden burst of attacks, not allowing for Dratini to escape, Ash dropped the fishing rod and grabbed another pokeball, he tossed it at the serpentine like pokemon trapping it inside, the pokeball landed on the shore and started wobbling.

'He was determined not to hurt the pokemon, he is a lot like N,' Hilbert thought proudly of his raven haired friend, he watched the red and white device wobbling from side to side.

Ash continued to watch the device hoping that the pokemon would stay inside, as the minutes passed, the trainer started to grow impatient, "come on, I want to give you to someone important to me," Ash pleaded with the pokemon, as he finished his sentence, the pokeball stopped moving and signified the complete capture of the pokemon.

Hilbert watched his friend pick up the pokeball, he noticed the broad smile on his face, knowing that he achieved something more meaningful, 'at least he seems a little more positive,' Hilbert thought watching Ash packing up the equipment and walking back to the town, "Oh Ash, there is something you need to know, the rest of them are planning something for you and Salvia," Hilbert warned his friend.

"Thanks for warning me Hilbert," Ash thanked his friend as he continued back towards the small town.

Meanwhile on the western boundary of the town Salvia was walking around in hopes of searching for a pokemon that would suit Ash, "you know following me around Hilda is rather rude," Salvia commented with a hint of sarcasm

"Nothing seems to get passed you princess," the brunette replied after being caught off guard. Hilda looked around the grassy fields and noticed that her friend was searching for a pokemon, "so what pokemon are you after?" the queen of Unova asked the Sinnoh Royal.

"A pokemon for Ash, I am thinking of an Eevee," Salvia replied softly, she kept scanning the snow covered fields in hopes of finding the elusive pokemon.

"You didn't answer my question from earlier," Hilda informed the bluenette.

Salvia walked slowly with her Gardevoir's pokeball in hand, "I might have the courage to face the Shadow Lords, but when it comes to something like this, I seem to lack it," Salvia answered her friend as she continued to pave her way through the snowy fields, "but why are you so adamant for me to tell Ash?" Salvia asked her friend.

Hilda started to help her friend in search for the small brown pokemon, 'I think I get some of the reason why, for one Ash is scared that Pride might use her to get to him and for Salvia, she doesn't think Ash feels the same way,' Hilda remnded herself of the feelings her two friends shared for one another.

While Hilda remained in thought Salvia spotted a lone Eevee and approached it slowly, holding back her call of her psychic type pokemon, Salvia placed her hand on the small pokemon, "oh wow, you're not feeling well," Salvia noted the cold pokemon, she picked it up and carried it back into town, "this wasn't the way I would have wanted to find an Eevee for Ash," Salvia confessed to herself, taking the pokemon back into town with her.

"So she found one, but not the way she would have liked," Hilda whispered, she followed her friend back into town, 'her story is just like mine,' Hilda reminisced her past connections with Hilbert.

**(3 hours later)**

Greed left the hallway with Paul, they each placed a set of keys in their pockets knowing that Ash was a while away, with Salvia in the fields both of which were searching for a gift for each other, as the two exited the hallway, Salvia rushed into the Pokemon Centre with a sick Eevee in her arms, "that Eevee is sick," Paul noticed the shivering pokemon, he watched the princess hand the sick pokemon to the nurse and smiled at her, "we better keep Ash out for a little while," Paul informed the Shadow Lord.

"I know but isn't he still an hour away?" Greed asked his ally with a smirk.

"Yeah, but I am willing to bet that, that Eevee is a pokemon she will give to Ash," Paul glanced over to his royal friend.

"Oh I see, so those two were going to get a pokemon as a gift for one another," Greed quickly acknowledged the same idea they shared, 'so why did we lock the doors to their respective rooms anyway?" Greed asked the lavender haired trainer.

"You will see my friend, I have never pulled a prank before," Paul started to chuckle.

As time passed Ash ran into the Pokemon Centre, he looked around and found that Salvia wasn't anywhere to be seen, "good, didn't want to ruin the surprise," Ash breathed a sigh of relief, he walked towards the front counter and handed the pokeball containing the newly captured dragon type pokemon.

After seeing to the health of the newly caught Pokemon Ash started his search for the blue haired royal, "yo Ash, I saw Salvia heading out to the western route again," Greed informed Ash after entering the Pokemon Centre.

"Crap, so Hilbert was right," Ash hissed in anger, he walked out of the pokemon centre and continued his search for Salvia. He noticed the day turning to night rather quickly, but still persisted to get to the princess. After getting to the western route Ash finally found Salvia and walked up to her.

Salvia watched as the town below her was starting to turn on the Christmas lights, "you know Ash, I never got the chance to see this," Salvia confessed her eyes fixated on the multitude of colours.

"Really? Christmas lights in this town were really nice…." Ash stopped for a moment flashing back to a memory he shared with Dawn, "the last time I was here, here to see the Christmas lights of this town was with Dawn," Ash lamented the loss of his first love. He walked up to the hill and sat next to Salvia, "I guess this is the first time we have really relaxed."

Salvia sat next to Ash, her arms on her knees, "yeah I haven't enjoyed much of late, but the Christmas lights in this town are amazing," Salvia expressed her joy, she turned her gaze to Ash, 'I never thought I would be spending some time with him,' Salvia thought to herself. Resting her head on her arms she looked out to the lights, soon enough all the Christmas lights had illuminated the small town, creating a colourful display of lights.

Ash peered out to the side, he noticed that Salvia was enjoying the light display, "are you getting cold?" Ash asked with concern for the princess, Salvia shook her head in denial, but Ash refused to accept her reply, he removed his jacket and placed it around the princess, "I don't want you getting sick," Ash confessed as he turned back to the light.

Salvia held on to Ash's jacket tightly, clutching it while the cold winds picked up, "thank you," Salvia whispered almost inaudibly.

Ash happily peered over to the princess, "you know, we should be heading back to the Pokemon Centre, it is starting to get a little late," Ash explained the situation to the princess.

After making it back to the medical facility Ash and Salvia walked over to their respective rooms, Ash tried his best to open the door to the room, "ummmm….Ash I am locked out of my room for some reason," Salvia informed Ash.

Ash placed his hands over his forehead and shook his head in disapproval, 'those guys are going to pay for this,' Ash immediately figured out who was behind the locked doors, Ash crossed his arms and walked passed the princess, "well at least the fireplace is a good place to relax again," Ash chuckled, he led the way with the young royal.

"So he also knows that our friends are responsible," the bluenette whispered, she looked back towards the end of the hallway and noticed a bright light, 'Dawn, it seems like you are still helping me,' Salvia thought as she felt the presence of her best friend, the spirit implored the princess to follow Ash, almost acknowledging her feelings towards Ash.

Ash was on the couch watching the fire dance around, it was quiet with no one around, only him on his own, with Salvia making her way towards him, "you know, can you count how many times they have tried in the last few days?" Ash asked the princess.

"Yeah, Hilda and Dusk have each tried to get me to say something important," Salvia replied softly.

"Greed and Paul have each tried a couple as times as well," Ash started laughing, Salvia took the seat next to Ash and watched the fire, the two started a fake laugh but knew that their friends were right about it, 'it isn't easy to hide it from our friends, but I am hiding it to protect you from Pride,' Ash's guilt started to creep in, but knew that it was the best thing for him to do, "you know one day, I will be telling you something important," Ash stated as she soon noticed that Salvia had fallen asleep.

"Hey look Paul, Salvia is sleeping," Greed watched from a safe distance, he was quick to notice Salvia's head resting on the raven haired trainer's left shoulder, the former member of the Shadow Lords approached the area, he quickly spotted Ash also asleep, "they don't even notice," Greed held back his laughter, he grabbed Ash's left and placed it around the princess.

**(The next morning)**

Savlia was first to wake up, quick to feel that something wasn't right, she noticed Ash's arm around her and the fact that she was resting on his shoulder, but she chose not to react, 'I feel warmer in Ash's arms,' Salvia confessed, not wanting to move, the fire was out, but her happiness was almost complete.

Ash woke up and quickly moved his arm away from the princess, "sorry," Ash apologised, but was surprised to find that Salvia wasn't angry at the night's sleep, 'what? She isn't angry?' Ash questioned himself, puzzled by the lack of reaction of the Sinnoh based royal.

Hilda used her limited psychic powers to place a twig of mistletoe above Ash and Salvia, holding in place, hoping for the best result, she watched Ash and Salvia walking underneath the mistletoe, watching waiting, 'hurry up you two,' Hilda held the twig almost effortlessly.

"I got it guys!" Dusk rushed into the Pokemon Centre, but as she got closer, she tripped up and her lips accidently came into contact with Ash.

Everyone watched in shock, unable to believe for the fifth time in the week they were foiled by another accident, "you have to be kidding me!" Hilda lowered her focus allowing the twig to fall to the ground.

Dusk leapt back in ager, she moved her right hand over her mouth, trying her best to clear up the kiss, "you kissed me, you bastard!" Dusk growled at Ash, she prepared to attack Ash yet again.

"But you tripped over," Ash tried to argue with the angry bluenette.

"Are you calling me clumsy?!" Dusk furiously asked the trainer.

Salvia watched as the trainer started running away, she quickly looked at the ground to find a twig of mistletoe at her feet, "that's right it is Christmas time," Salvia whispered, her face quickly turned red knowing how close she was to getting a kiss from Ash, but suddenly knew that something strange was happening, "it was a little coincidental that this was happening today," Salvia thought to herself, she immediately glanced over to Hilda whom she knew had a certain amount of psychic ability.

"Um Hilbert," Hilda called to her husband.

"Oh no, you're the one that planned this, you take responsibility," Hilbert immediately defended himself while Greed sat next to him, hearing the yells of agony from Ash.

"You are one dense idiot," Dusk whispered in Ash's right ear, placing a sleeper hold on Ash.

"I give up," Ash quickly submitted to Dusk.

Dusk let go of the submission move and allowed Ash to hit the ground, "alright, the next time that happens I will snap your neck," Dusk threatened the new Aura Master.

"Alright you two that is enough, time to leave the area," Greed led Dusk out of the Pokemon Centre, he was followed by the king and queen of Unova and Paul, they walked around the corner and watched Ash and Salvia, "alright guys, they are alone," Greed whispered, he looked over to Hilda and nodded, she concentrated her limited psychic powers to raising the mistletoe once again.

Ash nervously approached the princess, his hands shaking with a present in his grasps, "hey Salvia,…I-I umm…..have something to say," Ash stuttered now unable to complete a sentence.

Salvia tilted her head, puzzled by the nervous Ash, "what is it?" she asked him.

Ash gulped as he tried to gather the courage, 'oh man, I haven't been so nervous since I confessed my love for Dawn, but this is way more difficult,' Ash reminded himself, he looked at the present and presented it to the princess, "Merry Christmas," Ash wished the young royal.

Outside Dusk now visibly upset with Ash, she hit the wall next to Paul causing part of it to crumble, "that idiot," the angry Aura Master slammed her fist against the wall yet again, she was restrained by the friends as they continued to watch the scene, "let me go!" Dusk demanded.

Inside the Pokemon Centre Ash watched Salvia opening the present, inside the small box a red and white device, "a pokeball?" Salvia asked the trainer with a hint of surprise.

"Yeah, call out the pokemon," Ash replied, scratching his right face with a smile.

Salvia threw out the pokeball, a bright light emitted from the device until a pale blue pokemon with a white underbelly appear, the long pokemon turn to the princess and tilted it's head, "oh wow Ash a Dratini, thank you," Salvia gratefully celebrated her new present from Ash. Salvia pulled out a small box from her bag, "here Ash," Salvia presented Ash with her gift for him.

Ash slowly unwrapped the present revealing a pokeball inside, "seems like we both had the same idea," Ash informed the princess, he picked up the pokeball and called for the creature inside, a small brown pokemon with a fuzzy tail appeared from the device, "an Eevee," Ash replied with a hint of shock.

"Hope you like it Ash," Salvia whispered softly.

"I love it, I never had an Eevee before," Ash answered the princess, "thanks," Ash thanked the royal, "you know something, those guys have been acting strange all day," Ash chuckled as the princess turned her attention to the entrance way of the medical facility.

Salvia lowered her vision and started to laugh, "they wanted me to say something important to you," Salvia informed Ash.

"Yeah, they were doing the same for me," Ash recalled the evolution pokemon, thinking back about his day out in the city, 'no they were trying to force,' Ash thought back to what Hilda was trying to tell him, 'they in fact told me about the fact that you love me, I don't know about that, there is no way you would feel that way about me, especially after I put you in danger,' Ash explained to himself denying even the smallest possibility.

'They all know that I am in love with Ash, but there is no way Ash would love me, how can I confess when I am going to be turned down?' Salvia asked herself fearing that Ash wouldn't feel the same way.

Dusk now being tied up was getting impatient with the obliviousness of Ash and Salvia, "dammit, all those two have to say is they love each other!" Dusk angrily stated while reading the auras of both Ash and Salvia.

Hilda looked towards the Aura Master and smiled, "I don't think that is as easy as you think, Ash seems to fear that if he gets too close to Salvia, he might lose her and Salvia is afraid that Ash doesn't love her," Hilda started reasoning with the bluenette, "it isn't like they don't want to tell each other how they feel, it is likely they cannot at this stage," Hilda started to notice the apprehension of her two friends.

"Well isn't that not a surprise," Hilbert approached his wife and friends.

"I see, so you knew," Paul retorted with a respectful tone.

"Of course I knew, we have to give them the time and space they needed, they aren't going to confess even if you trick them into it," Hilbert acknowledged the situation, he looked into the Pokemon Centre seeing his two friends talking to one another having a great time, he looked up and noticed the mistletoe, "I take it that is your handy work Hilda," Hilbert asked his wife with a cheeky tone, Hilda proudly nodded at her work and gazed into the Pokemon Centre, "how about we leave those two alone, we aren't going to achieve anything," Hilbert started walking away from the rest of the group like he did before the plan started to take shape.

Inside the medical facility Ash and Salvia were enjoying one another's company, talking about Christmas and what the new year will bring for them, "next year we will defeat the Shadow Lords," Ash declared confidently.

"For me, to become a leader, but there are a lot of things I need to learn, so I want to travel with you to Kalos," the princess expressed her interest in going on a journey with Ash.

"Yeah, that can easily be arranged," Ash replied with certainty.

Salvia walked up to Ash and gave him a light kiss on the cheek, she walked away with her new pokemon in her pokeball, leaving a stunned Ash to ponder what had happened, "that should keep our friends quiet for a while," Salvia giggled as she turned to the door still knowing that her friends were outside.

"Yeah, that's right princess," Ash answered back softly. He watched the young royal entering the hallway, his right hand covering the place where Salvia had kissed him, 'that was unexpected,' Ash thought to himself as his friends barged in each of them with a broad smile, it was then he noticed that Dusk was still outside.

"Wow Ash, your face is bright red," Hilda teased her friend with a cheeky smile.

"Shut up," Ash tried to fight back but soon noticed Greed's left arm surrounding him, "what do you want this time Greed?" Ash asked his Shadow Lord friend.

"Oh come on Ash, why not tell us I am certain the princess is in her room," Greed requested the raven haired Aura Master.

"What is Greed getting at? There is no way Ash could be in love with me," Salvia questioned the Shadow Lord, she pressed her back against the wall to get a chance to hear more of the conversation

Ash grabbed his friends arm, not taking any notice of Salvia hiding in the hallway to hear her friends chatting to Ash, "alright, if you want to know," Ash's voice echoed into the hallway not happy that his friends kept pushing him to say something, "I am in love with Salvia," Ash confessed to his friends, Salvia quickly placed her hands over her mouth in shock at what she had heard, she looked out to see Ash being teased by his friends.

Salvia was quick to return to her room, shaken by what she had heard from Ash, "he loves me, I didn't know," she whispered to herself, her face quickly turning red from hearing Ash's confession, she could feel her heart racing, trying to figure out how she was going to return Ash's feelings for her, 'how can I say anything? I am really nervous about it,' Salvia questioned her resolve in confessing her love to Ash.

* * *

**Salvia's new discovery will soon lead her to becoming more confident in her feelings for Ash, but to bring them into words will be her greatest trial.**

**Next time chapter 30: Towards the Shadows.**

**The last 9 chapters, hope you guys are holding in, the final chapters are coming and fast. There will also be an epilogue chapter depicting events after the story.**


	30. New Years Promise

**Chapter 30: New Year's Promise.**

_**Summary: **__Christmas has now passed, but New Year is upon Ash and Salvia, another scheme is hatched to get Ash and Salvia to confess to one another, will it succeed this time? Or will the friends finally give up?_

* * *

Ash and Salvia were resting in the front foyer of the Pokemon Centre still recovering from the prolonged battle against the Dark Aura Masters, Ash noticed the princess walking away from the table not daring to utter a word, "hey princess are you alright?" Ash asked the blunette, but he was ignored by her, Ash looked over to his friends showing signs of confusion, "hey you guys, why is not Salvia talking to me?" Ash asked his friends.

The group watched Salvia enter the hallway equally confused by her actions, "I am going to talk to her," the brunette decreed, "you guys stay put," Hilda commanded her friends, she walked away leaving Ash even more perplexed by the actions of his friend.

"So, do you know what is going on?" Ash asked his friends.

'He is an idiot, I know what happened,' Dusk thought to herself, she turned away and walked to the exit, "I am going, I am heading to Veilstone City," Dusk walked out leaving the group of friends alone, "oh and Ash, don't think for a second, that because I helped you, it makes us friends," Dusk exited the Pokemon Centre, leaving the rest of her allies in a state of confusion.

Greed walked towards the exit, "well, it seems like my next mission to gather more information on my former allies, since there are only two of them left," Greed stated with a hint of uneasiness, he looked back and nodded at the Aura Master, 'but while I am at it I am going to see Melissa as well,' Greed thought to himself, his thoughts drifting towards the young woman he had met while he was healing in the hospital.

"Well Ash, it seems like Paul and I are staying here," Hilbert pointed out with a smile, he approached the main counter.

Meanwhile in the main hall of the medical facility, Hilda started knocking on the door to her friend's room, "hey Salvia, please open up," requested the brunette.

Salvia opened the door to allow her friend to enter, "you know, I thought getting confident was easy, but I still cannot manage to tell Ash my growing feelings for him," Salvia confessed as she allowed her friend to enter.

"You have been trying haven't you?" Hilda asked the bluenette.

Salvia nodded in reply, but tried to put what she had heard on Christmas Day, but everything she tried failed to erase what she had heard, "you know, I listened in on the conversation with my friends and Ash," Salvia reminded her friend, "so I even heard about what Ash things of me as well," Salvia told the Unova Queen.

Hilda placed her right hand on the princess' head, "all the more reason why you should tell him, you know right, you need to be confident, that is why you cut your hair right?" Hilda reminded her friend of her resolve, "there is something I need to tell you," Hilda stated while getting up and walking to the window of the princess' room.

Salvia looked up and watched her friend placing her left hand on the window, "what is it?" she asked the brown haired woman.

"There was a time when I lacked confidence, in fact I still do, I usually act all confident to hide the fact that I am far from perfect," Hilda confessed her problems to her friend, with the light on, Hilda lifted up the right side of her tank top, revealing a scar that ran down her stomach, "this was done when I was a little child, our town was attacked by Team Plasma, I almost lost my parents because of it," Hilda informed the royal as she lowered the top, then pointing to her hair, "and I get the worst split ends ever," Hilda started to laugh at her own problem with her hair.

"What are you getting at Hilda?" Salvia asked her friend.

Grabbing a chair Hilda sat in front of her friend with the back of the chair facing the princess, "simple princess, I never thought that Hilbert would fall in love with me, he saw passed what he saw on the outside and saw me as a great person on the inside," Hilda explained to the princess as she looked away.

"What does that have to do with me?" Salvia asked with a frown.

"Ash has messy hair, he doesn't dress with a hint of fashion, but you look pass that and see him for who he is right? He appreciates that from you," Hilda pointed out with a smile, she looked up to the ceiling and smiled, "maybe if I wasn't with Hilbert, maybe, I would have developed feelings for Ash as well, but that's a long shot, this something you need to start perusing now," Hilda admitted her admiration for Ash.

"Why are you telling me this?" Salvia asked the brunette.

"You just need to be upfront with him, just tell him," Hilda instructed her friend.

Salvia fell back on the pillow and placed her hands behind her head, staring at the ceiling, "do you when this will end?" Salvia asked the brunette.

Hilda scratched her cheek and smiled at the princess, "don't know," Hilda answered as she glanced towards the door, "you know New Years is almost here, why not spend the night with Ash, celebrate the new year in and make a resolution," Hilda suggested to her friend. Hilda stood up and started walking to the door, "maybe you can sneak another kiss in," Hilda teased her friend, before dodging a pillow that was thrown at her by her friend.

"You saw that on Christmas didn't you?" Salvia asked her friend with a hint of disdain.

Sighing in disbelief, Hilda opened the door, she was about to walk out of the room and started laughing, "listen, it is obvious to all of your friends, isn't it about time you told him?" Hilda questioned her friend, walking out of the room before the bluenette could answer her question.

Salvia raised her left hand into the air, staring at her hand, "I should tell him? All of my friends are encouraging me," Salvia told herself as she turned her hand around, she lowered it until she felt her bag resting next to her, 'I promised myself that I would write dad a letter,' Salvia remembered the first time she left the palace, she turned herself to get out of bed, picking up her bag, opening it, she pulled out a pad of paper and a pen.

"Salvia, I was wondering, if you would like to spend New Year's Eve with me tonight," Ash enquired through the door.

Salvia looked back at the door, hesitating to answer the request, "yeah of course," Salvia answered softly, she looked at the paper not even getting a response to Ash, she placed pen to paper and started to write whatever came to mind, 'dear mom and dad, I know it is too late to give you this letter, but I felt the need to write it,' Salvia thought to herself as she continued to write down more about her mission to save the Sinnoh region.

She felt the air getting colder, "how? The air conditioning is on," Salvia asked herself, looking around, it wasn't long until she spotted a human shaped figure standing at the entrance to her room, but the door was closed and no one had entered apart from Hilda, fear soon crossed the princess' face as she came to realise what it was exactly, almost speechless the apparition soon vanished leaving the royal petrified. After regaining her composure, she picked up the paper and pen, rushing out of the room in fear.

Ash watched the princess running out of the hallway, but was quick to notice the fear on her face, "are you alright?" Ash asked, the princess turned towards Ash but was too scared to say anything.

Hilda walked up to the princess and placed her hand over her head, "let's see, what scared you into not being able to tell us anything?" asking quietly, closing her eyes she saw an apparition, 'I see, alright, I better keep this quiet,' Hilda thought to herself.

"What is it Hilda?" Ash asked with a worried tone.

"It seems that, the room Salvia is sleeping in is haunted," Hilda lied to her friend, hiding what was really happening. 'I cannot even tell them that this spirit has been following them for a while now,' Hilda thought, she seemed confused at what she had heard from the spirit. She turned to Ash and smiled, "why not let her sleep in your room tonight?" she suggested.

**(6 Hours before New Year's)**

After bringing Salvia's bag to her room, Ash walked up to the room that Salvia was staying in, he looked around and wondered what scared her so badly, "wonder what scared her, I know that Hilda was lying," Ash thought out loud, glancing to the left he noticed Salvia entering his room, he walked further into the room and noticed a light flickering on in the bathroom. "Salvia isn't in here," Ash whispered to himself, 'maybe Hilda was right,' Ash started to doubt himself, he approached the bathroom but before entering the light switched off leaving him perplexed, "I sense it again, but this time it is fading," Ash whispered softly, he turned away from the room and walked towards the exit of the room.

Ash walked out of the room with the waiting Salvia wondering what he had found, "I am confused, it doesn't seem like this spirit is out to harm us," Ash glanced back, his left hand on his chin, puzzled by the mystery.

'Great I am running out of time,' the spirit told herself, watching the princess and Ash trying to talk to one another, 'come on you two, at least say something,' the spirit started to show support towards her friends.

"Well maybe it would be best if I let you rest in my room tonight," the raven haired trainer allowed the royal to sleep in the same room.

"Ash, the New Year's fireworks will be happening in under six hours from now," Salvia continue dot grow a little nervous, she turned towards the room and grasped her pen tightly, "I have something I need to finish," she stated, walking slowly to the room.

"Alright, I am going to get some food for tonight," Ash told the princess allowing her to be alone for a little while, Ash looked back to find his door closed, 'thank you spirit, whoever you are…" Ash started jokingabout the current situation he found himself in.

Meanwhile in the room Salvia sat down and put pen to paper, 'I have been working to become a stronger woman, it hasn't been easy, the road has been very rocky for me, but I think I am getting closer to becoming the person I need to be,' Salvia thought to herself as she moved the end of the pen towards her mouth, thinking about what she needed to write next on the letter. "with everything going on, I have discovered so much about myself, decided where I need to go in order to become an even better person,' Salvia continued to write her letter to her deceased parents.

Salvia heard someone knocking on the door, "Salvia, it is me," a female voice called out to her friend, "before the new year sets in, you need to tell him your feelings," Hilda told her friend though the door.

Salvia tightened her grip on the pen, 'that's right mom and dad, during the situation with the Shadow Lords, I have also fallen in love with best friend's fiancé, but sadly my best friend was killed because of the Shadow Lords, so I don't feel right about telling him my feelings, since…. Well you both know lady Dawn, we both look a like,' Salvia thought as she heard her friend knocking on the door so harshly, it was like she was going to knock the door down, 'but I am also surrounded by amazing friends, all of them trying to tell me that I need to tell Ash how much I love him,' Salvia thought about the situation with Christmas.

"You have been in there for a while now," Hilda called for her friend to come out.

"I am doing something important, can you please wait!" Salvia viciously told her friend.

In shock with the response Hilda stepped back, but also knew that she was more than likely getting ready to celebrate with Ash, "are you going to make a New Year's resolution?" Hilda asked her friend with a hint of playfulness in her voice.

'Yeah I am,' Salvia answered in her mind, she looked back and finally decided what she was going to do in the next year, 'Dawn if you are watching this, I want to make Ash happy, I want to be his partner in life,' Salvia closed her eyes and prayed to her friend, she turned back to the table and wrote another paragraph, 'mom, dad, I have found my fated one, the one that I want to marry and grow old with,' Salvia started her final paragraph, she wrote another line as her confidence continued to grow, 'my future is linked with Ash and I will follow him to whatever end, my heart belongs to him,' Salvia finished the letter as she folded it and placed it in an envelope, she put it in her bag and stood up.

"Hilda, I will be getting ready, I needed to do something important," Salvia told her friend, quietly preparing for the night out with Ash.

"I will be spending time alone with Hilbert, you will be alone with Ash," Ash replied, quickly spinning around to see Hilbert approaching her.

**(3 hours before the New Year)**

Salvia rushed out of the room in excitement, she was dressed in a pink dress, similar to the appearance of the one Dawn had worn in the past, "I have decided to make a promise to Ash," Salvia promised herself as she entered the main foyer.

Ash was sitting with a basket filled with food, he glanced over to the princess who was standing in front of him, Ash's mouth agape at the appearance of the princess, 'oh man, she looks so elegant,' Ash thought to himself, he turned away from her, but didn't notice his two friends standing in behind of him.

Hilda looked over Ash's right shoulder and smiled broadly, "your face is beet red," Hilda teased her friend, but Ash avoided turning towards the princess, "complimented her, say it to her face too," Hilda chimed, she tried to force Ash to turn around, "she wants to know what you think of her in the dress she is wearing," Hilda whispered a she stepped back towards Hilbert.

"Hilda, you shouldn't be trying to force the issue," Hilbert reminded his young wife.

"But Hilbert, they need to, remember when Cheren tried to get you to confess to me?" Hilda asked her husband.

"He wouldn't stop pestering me….alright, but on one condition," Hilbert glanced over to his wife, "you wear an elegant dress," Hilbert set the conditions for his wife to follow.

"Alright, I know you think I look cute in a dress anyway," Hilda teased her husband.

Ash looked at the ground and gulped, he tried looking up, he was blushing and struggling to look up, he felt Hilda's hand hitting him on the back forcing him to shoot his vision up, he started staring at the pink dress and Salvia who was also feeling nervous, "S-Salvia, you look beautiful in the dress," Ash nervously compliment the princess.

Salvia smiled approaching the trainer, she placed her arm around Ash's left arm, "shall we start our date?" Salvia asked the Aura Master.

Ash scratched the back of his head thinking about what was really happening, "alright," Ash replied softly. The two walked out of the Pokemon Centre, towards a location where they could watch the fireworks.

After a short time Salvia stopped clinging to Ash's arm and the two continued on to celebrate the New Year, Salvia turned her attention to Ash, "so Ash, have you made a promise yet?" Salvia asked the trainer with a hopeful smile.

Ash hesitated to make a clear answer, his thought drifted to the past, "yeah, I am promising myself and to someone else that I will share my life with them," Ash answered not wanting to reveal too much about his own emotions.

Salvia felt her heart racing but still managed to resist the urge to make a reply, she gulped at her own goals and thought about the letter to her parents, 'even though they are no longer with me, I did make a promise to them,' Salvia quickly reminded herself about her own goals, "after this, I want to travel to another region, compete in the Pokemon League," Salvia informed Ash, hoping that he would support her in the quest she wants to lead.

Ash grabbed one of his pokeballs and started to think about his past ambitions, "I have another promise I want to make, I want to be a trainer again, going to wherever the road may lead me," Ash stated as the two continued on towards their destination.

Salvia entered a clear field lacking in snow cover, but was perfect location to watch the fireworks with Ash, "so Ash, there is something, you want to become a Pokemon Master?" Salvia questioned the trainer, but a hint of guilt crossed her face as she, "but you still don't have your greatest source of inspiration," Salvia pointed out sadly.

"Moving forward has been difficult, while I was moving forward, I found my source of inspiration," Ash informed the princess, he placed a blanket on the ground allowing the princess to place a basket fill with the food Ash had bought for the both of them, Ash stared at the princess, 'yeah, I found my source of inspiration,' Ash repeated to himself, almost feeling proud of his new source, his brown eyes now fixated on the young royal.

The two sat down watching the lights in the small town going out quickly, "you know, when another life meets another life, something is born," Ash told Salvia, but he chuckled at the words mockingly, "at first I was clueless, but over the years I grew to understand those words, something told to me by the champion of this region," Ash informed the puzzled royal, he looked up to see the stars twinkling overhead and a crescent moon hovering in the black canvas.

"Cynthia said something like that, I have always wanted to meet her," Salvia confessed, thinking about her problems in the past, before she could make another comment, Hilda and Hilbert appeared next to them, "you two, what are you doing here?" Salvia asked her friends, shocked by their arrival.

"Well, we were going to come here anyway, just surprised that you two would be watching the fireworks in the same place we are," Hilda explained while noticing the suspicion entering Ash's mind.

"Yeah right, you have psychic abilities," Ash snarled at his brown haired friend, 'man I wanted to spend some time with Salvia, alone,' Ash thought to himself as he looked away.

**(Ten Minutes before New Year)**

With minutes to spare Hilda watched the princess edging closer to Ash, "I have a suggestion," Hilda pointed out as the excitement grew, "I have been thinking, maybe you two should at least…." Hilda started but was interrupted by her husband.

"I don't think that is such a good idea," Hilbert whispered, trying to prevent her from making the suggestion, but he was pushed away by the brunette, placing his right hand over his face, to cover up what would potentially be an embarrassing moment.

"Before the New Year sets in, you two," Hilda directed her gaze at her friends, pointing at them and smirking at the same time, "just at least once confirm something between yourselves," Hilda requested, her two friends looked at each other almost puzzled by her cryptic words.

"What do you want us to confirm?" Salvia asked her friend from Unova.

Hilbert let out a loud sigh bringing the attention to him, "she wants you two to kiss," Hilbert informed his friends.

In shock the two turned to one another, then back to their friends who had different expressions, Hilda with a more encouraging expression and Hilbert trying his best not to say anything. Salvia started thinking back to when she overheard the confession Ash had made, "why are you asking this Hilda?" Salvia asked her friends.

"Oh come on Salvia," Hilda closed the distance and smiled, "you cannot hide it from Ash for too much longer," the brunette whispered into her friend's ear, she moved back and waited to see what happens, "I promise not to bring it up again, also if you say that you felt nothing, I will tell everyone and not only that I will also go home and admit that I was wrong," Hilda informed her friends of the implications of her being wrong.

"You idiot, we need to stay here and help defeat the Shadow Lords!" Hilbert argued with his brown haired wife.

Hilda leaned in and placed her right hand on her husband's shoulder, "I am not wrong, if those two say nothing then, there is something brewing between them," Hilda, silently told the king of Unova.

"Fine, but you can head home alone, I will be staying to make sure Sinnoh is safe," Hilbert told the queen with an indication of frustration, he turned to his friends, "please do it to keep my wife quiet, otherwise you will never know peace from her," Hilbert requested as he looked away with disdain.

"Fine if it keeps you quiet, but only a really quick one" Ash replied, he turned towards the princess.

'No way, I….I get to kiss Ash,' Salvia thought to herself feeling Ash's hands cupping her face, he moved closer allowing for Salvia and him to press their lips together, but without noticing their friends watching a quick kiss turned into a much longer kiss than expected with Salvia closing her eyes as a jolt ran through her mind.

'As I thought,' Hilda noted to herself, watching her friends be more at ease with the kiss, she glanced over to her husband almost laughing at him, "see I was right, they cannot deny it for much longer," Hilda looked out the corner of her eyes, with the two still enjoying it.

The two pulled back surprised by the experience, unable to say a word, they turned away, their faces red and their hearts racing, 'oh man, what just happened?' Ash asked himself, his left hand reaching his mouth, he looked back to see Salvia who was also visibly flustered by the occurrence.

"So, what was it like?" Hilda asked her friends, her chin in the palm of her left hand and her elbow on her knees, but they were way too flustered to respond, 'seems like I was right still,' Hilda placed her right hand over her mouth to cover her laughter, "well?" Hilda pushed her friends to respond.

Before the two could respond a loud explosion rung through the air, followed by a colourful explosion, Ash looked up to see the fireworks starting, to signal in a New Year, the four people stood up and watched the continuing display, without noticing their own actions Ash and Salvia started holding hands, Salvia watched in wonderment, as the colourful display continued on, she looked down at her left hand and noticed that she was holding his hand.

Ash looked down and then made eye contact with the princess, "you know I really enjoyed that," Ash admitted to the princess, much to her surprise, oblivious to the proud expression of her friends, 'it is decided, I am going to help Salvia rebuild her kingdom,' Ash thought while turning his attention back to the fireworks.

Salvia watched the display, the number of fireworks being fired into the air increased as the sky continued to light up with colours of red, green, blue and gold, as the rapid rate of fireworks built up Salvia remembered when she met Ash in Canalave City, how cold his attitude was, now that he has opened up to her, she peered to see Ash watching oblivious to her attention, with the sky lighting up and their friends waiting just a meter away, she tilted her head, "I really like you Ash," Salvia admitted to the trainer.

"See Hilbert, I made the right judgement," Hilda teased her husband with a playful tone, rubbing her little victory in the face of Hilbert, almost like she was teasing him, "they might not have admitted their feelings out right, but at least they are much closer to admitting them," she stated as she started walking away from the group and towards the Pokemon Center.

In the distance Dawn's spirit appeared without the Ash and Salvia noticing, she looked down noticing that Ash and Salvia were holding hands, 'good,' the spirit said with a smile, she looked around until she was confronted by Hilda who had a suspicious expression on her face, 'oh right, you have some psychic abilities,' the spirit started laughing at herself.

"That's right, when you were alive, you were about to get married to Ash and you were the best friend of Princess Salvia," Hilda reminded the ghost of the bluenette, the spirit continued to keep a watchful gaze on the budding romance between Ash and her best friend, "you know I can see you right, I have a small amount of psychic ability," Hilda reiterated her ability towards the ghost, the apparition looked at the brunette and smiled, "why haven't you crossed over yet? And why did you scare your best friend earlier?" Hilda piled on the questions, almost angry at the spirit.

Dawn turned her attention to Ash, he seemed happier that he was with Salvia, 'I am not crossing over until Ash has fully moved forward, I want to see him be happy, that is my mission,' Dawn informed the Unova queen, she started to turn away from the group as she looked back at the brunette, 'please keep it quite from those two, I don't want Ash to get all upset, when the time is right, I will talk to him one last time,' Dawn walked away before vanishing from the scene, she looked back to see Ash and Salvia closing the distance, a pained expression crossed her face, but knew there was nothing she could do, 'soon Ash and Salvia, I will meet you again,' Dawn's spirit said but with a hint of pride in the two people closest to her.

"So your name is Dawn," Hilda whispered, slowly restarting her journey, 'she is bound to this world, because she still loves Ash,' Hilda thought back to the saddened expression, but knew that the spirit didn't want to bring any harm to Ash and Salvia.

* * *

**The plan shows signs of working, but still no words, the friends look towards the final battles against the Shadow Lords.**

**Next time Chapter 31: Holding onto a Dream**

**AN: **_here we go ladies and gents the final chapters are on their way, the Shadow Fall Arc is about to start hope you all enjoy it. Also please check out the new AshXHilda story called Fracture._


	31. Holding onto a Dream

**Chapter 31: Holding onto a Dream**

_**Summary: **__with the Dark Aura Masters defeated, Ash and Salvia continue on towards their next destination, but with new resolve they prepare to face their final challenges as they each announce their dreams again._

* * *

The first rays of sunlight broke through the clouds, bouncing off the snow, heating up the area around Ash and Salvia, who remained back a week after celebrating new year's with their friends from Unova, Ash looked towards the distance and started to chuckle, 'even after a while I forgot who I was, so many people helped me find out more about myself, now I know which path I need to retake,' Ash thought as he closed his eyes. A flashback of him kissing Salvia played back in his mind, shaking his head, trying to erase the vision, he looked out to the distance and placed his hands over his lips, 'no matter how much I try, I cannot erase that image,' Ash confessed to himself.

Ash peered back towards the intimidating mountain where the last battle took place, his thoughts about the people whose lives were taken for no reason and the princess who saved his life, "just Sloth and Pride left," Ash whispered.

Salvia emerged from the Pokemon Centre, spotting Ash staring at the mountain where the last fight took place, she quickly pictured the moment where they first kissed, 'I don't know why I cannot erase that image from my mind, but then again I don't want to ever,' Salvia thought to herself as she placed her right hand over her lips.

Ash glanced back at the princess, unable to make eye contact with her, he took a deep breath, still trying to come to terms with what had happened during their New Year's date, "you know we have almost won the fight, I was just thinking about something important," Ash pulled out one of his pokeballs and stared at it for a moment.

"We haven't been able to train our pokemon," Salvia stated softly, she grabbed out of her pokeballs and glued her eyes on the red and white device, "I have been accused of copying other people's dreams and yet it feels like something is guiding me to those ambitions, directing," she explained the feeling she was getting. The bluenettefelt the wind pick up, her hair started to sway slightly, thinking about what she wanted to do next, "throughout my life I had been sheltered, missing out on so much, even now I am missing out," Salvia confessed her sadness, she looked up to see the clouds scattered revealing a bright blue sky with the sun shining down on her.

"I agree," Ash replied, he turned around to see the pillar of sunlight hitting the blue haired royal, "after we defeat the Shadow Lords, I am going to journey again," Ash announced his intentions to Salvia, he looked sideways and scratched his cheek nervously, "what about you?"

"I am going to travel as well," Salvia refused to look back as she answered the question, she started to shake a little, both nervously and visibly upset that her and Ash would be separated for an extended amount of time, "I will be travelling alone to see the many sites with my own eyes," Salvia announced her intentions to Ash.

"Let's go," Ash replied, not even giving the answer he wanted to give her.

Salvia followed Ash towards the eastern part of the small town, refusing to glance over to the young man, she looked, staring at the wall of fog, seeing a picture of her and Ash in her mind, 'I finally figured out what I need to do, but I am still a little frightened of asking him,' she thought to herself as the two made their way out of the now quiet town.

"I am going to enter into a pokemon league, take on the chellenges that I should be facing now," Ash informed the princess calmly.

The two walked onto the road leading to the next battle, the cold weather continued to hit them as the snow started to fall slowly, "say Ash, you intend to follow your dream again?" the princess enquired curiously.

"Yeah, I do," Ash retorted quickly. The duo continued on through the fog which seemed to be lifting, but the visibility was still not very good, "so what is your dream?" Ash questioned the blunette softly.

Silence filled the air, Salvia placed her left hand over her chin and stared at to the distance, thinking about her dream, 'I never thought of it before,' she admitted to herself, but as she continued to think about her own ambitions another idea popped into her mind, "the world, I want to see everything, catch lots of pokemon, compete in the pokemon league and contests, as well as make more friends," Salvia explained her ambitions of travel to Ash, but another thing popped into her mind, something that she felt was so close, yet she felt she was unable to reach it, "to find someone I can share it all with," Salvia informed Ash.

"That's really nice to know," Ash whispered, but was beginning to question who she was thinking of taking along, "I was also thinking," Ash gulped, but ended his sentence.

The long drawn silence continued on as they continued on through the fog covered path, "how long before we get out of this fog?" the princess broke the silence, she felt for her hair which had started to grow a little longer since she had cut it, 'oh right, I remember, I cut my hair short in order to become a new person, something I need to follow,' Salvia reminded herself as she continued walking next to Ash.

"Back to what I was going to say, when I travel next, I would like you to accompany me," Ash requested, bringing the princess in to a surprised state.

"Where to?" Salvia questioned curiously.

"I was thinking Kalos," Ash answered quietly. The bluenette stopped, then stared at the ground, she was visibly blushing, causing Ash to move in closer, putting his hand over her forehead, "are you alright?"

Salvia gulped and jumped back in shock, "I will go with you to Kalos," Salvia answered Ash confidently.

"Good," Ash quietly celebrated, he turned away pumping his fist happily and walked forward, as they exited the route that was leading to another road, 'it has been a while now, I didn't think I would be happy again, but for some reason Salvia brings me to a much clearer state of mind,' Ash admitted to himself, shooting his eyes back towards the princess, she didn't noticed Ash staring at her, 'a while ago, I didn't want her anywhere near me, but slowly but surely, something changed within me,' the young man continued to think about the effect the princess had on him.

Salvia looked up but before she could notice the stare that Ash put on her, he quickly turned away, "is there something wrong Ash?" she asked him, but no response came from him.

"We are two days walk from Veilstone City," Ash changed the subject much to the chagrin of the royal.

"Yeah I know," she replied disappointedly, almost expecting Ash to tell her what was on his mind.

"I was thinking that while we are in Veilstone City, we could…." Ash stopped his sentence, as the image of him kissing Salvia played back in his mind, 'oh man, this is stupid, why does it play back all the time?' Ash started to question why it wouldn't go away, 'I guess, this is evidence enough,' Ash peered over his left shoulder again, taking a deep breath he tried to muster the courage to say something again, but he couldn't sound the words he needed to say to her, 'I guess for all my regained confidence, I cannot tell her just yet,' Ash reminded himself almost laughing at his inability to tell the blue haired royal.

"I heard this was this nice restaurant in Veilstone City, we didn't get the chance to go there," Salvia stated while the two restarted their journey to the major city, 'it wasn't like we could at the time and maybe it still isn't a good time,' Salvia told herself, but she quickly thought about the events of the previous week, 'no I will not doubt myself,' with her confidence renewed yet again, she grabbed Ash's hand and tightened it.

With Ash turning his attention to Salvia, he tilted his head and smiled at the princess, "is there something you want?"

"Yes, I want you to take me out on a date," Salvia made her request.

"At least none of our friends are forcing it on us this time," Ash replied with a quick jab at his friends, scratching the back of his head, he thought about the previous months and started to smile at himself, "even though we don't have the time," Ash started, quickly turning to see Salvia get a little upset with his response, he looked towards the route heading towards the major city, "I am going to accept your request," Ash answered the princess with a nod. Not waiting for a reply Ash walked ahead, with his heart racing from hearing the request from the young royal, 'I cannot hold onto something that I lost, I will take this as something to help me heal,' Ash thought to himself feeling happy for the first time in over five months, feeling the wind pressing against his face and the sound of thunder rolling overhead, "come on Salvia, I don't want you catching a cold," Ash cheerfully called for the princess to follow him.

"Right, let's go," Salvia rushed up to Ash's side, Salvia looked out the corner of her eyes and proudly smiled at the trainer, 'maybe he doesn't know, that I have found the one I want to share my journeys with as well as share my life with,' Salvia thought to herself, but started to hesitate in her chance to grab Ash's hand, 'even though he said we didn't have the time, he is still making an effort,' Salvia told herself, her thoughts turned back to when she met Ash again after five years, 'could it be that he has decided that he needed to move on? Move on after the loss of Lady Dawn?' Salvia grew more curious into the mind set of Ash who kept his barrier up for an extended period.

**(Hearthome City)**

Greed walked around on his own, his memories of his first fight with Gluttony still seared in his thoughts, 'I cannot believe how I was beaten in that fight, but now I am going to decide a destiny that will help my friends and maybe I can finally enjoy the finer things in life,' Greed thought to himself, watching the people clean up after his fight with Gluttony, "this place is still a mess," he whispered, he continued on until he spotted a familiar woman, walking slowly towards her, "so you couldn't help yourself," Greed stated with a hint of displeasure.

Melissa spun around to see Greed standing behind her, with great excitement, she leapt into an emotional hug, "I thought you wouldn't come back," the Kanto Princess started crying, she stepped back and smiled at him gently.

"Geez it has only been a month," Greed scratched the back of his head, chuckling at the emotional royal, "I will be off to defeat my fellow Shadow Lords," Greed informed the pink haired nurse.

"Again? It seems like we only see one another for a short time, then you go off to help Ash and Salvia," Melissa complained, she turned back to the people who were still in need of medical attention, taking a deep breath she knelt down to assist the surrounding people, "they came here when Oreburgh was destroyed, so I followed them here to give them all the assistance I can possibly muster," the kind hearted woman professed proudly.

Greed approached the injured people and started tending to the children who were in need of food, "here kids, some food I got before I came here, you will need it more than I do," Greed watched the children take the food from his hand, running away happily with the Shadow Lord watching joyously.

"I thought being the embodiment of Greed, you would never do such a thing," Melissa stated while Greed stood up, with his stomach rumbling in hunger, "you sacrificed the last of your food for the hungry children, you're nothing but a big softy," she teased the Shadow Lord.

"Yeah I still am, but over the years so much has changed, seeing the people happy and making all the friends in the world kind of softened me up," Greed watched the children running around, playing with the pokemon in the local area with their parents watching on.

"So you found another reason to fight?" Melissa asked the Shadow Lord.

Nodding in agreement, he watched one of the balls rolling towards him, "yeah, I have," Greed picked up the ball and looked at the children, "it is thanks to my friends that I have made," Greed started to get a little more embarrassed before feeling Melissa pressing her lips against his cheek. Reacting quickly he placed his right hand where he was kissed, "it is also thanks to you," Greed admitted softly.

"Oh you're so sweet," Melissa cooed with joy.

"Hey Melissa, what is your dream?" Greed quickly asked the princess of Kanto, he looked back to find her in a state of shock, "whatever it is, I want to fight in order to keep it safe," he informed the pinkette.

"My dream? I never really thought about it," Melissa admitted as she placed her hands behind her back and started staring at the cloudless sky, "if anything, I have always wanted to see the world, experience what the thrill of a pokemon battle is like and to compete in a contest, then I want to make it back to Kanto and revive the Kanto kingdom," Melissa explained her ambitions to the Shadow Lord.

Laughing at the young royal he walked up to her and placed his hands on her shoulders, "then make that your dream, that is something I would be happy to fight for," Greed turned towards the crowd who were watching them. Quickly removing his hands, he started walking to the west again.

"Wait Greed," Melissa called to her love interest, "I want you to travel with me," Melissa requested with a hopeful smile.

Greed stopped upon hearing the request, looking at the ground, "I would love to," Greed replied, causing the woman to start jumping for joy, "but that might not become reality," he informed the princess who stopped jumping for joy and started to get a little upset with the comments.

"But why?!" Melissa asked the Shadow Lord.

Looking out into the distance he let out a sigh, "maybe that is because Pride is a ruthless individual, he has a big target painted on my back," Greed answered the princess to the best of his ability, "in other words he wants me dead," a slight laugh started to emerge from the Shadow Lord.

Melissa rushed up to Greed and wrapped her arms around him, "then do your best to come back alive," she started to cry, "I want you around…..no I need you around," Melissa buried her head in the Shadow Lord's back, "I love you Greed," Melissa confessed her love to the Shadow Lord.

"Alright, how about this, we go on one date tonight and if I come back alive, we will have plenty more dates between you and me," Greed did his best to hold back on calling it a promise, but also noticed the happiness in the royal's disposition, "in fact, I love you as well Melissa," Greed answered her confession, hugging her tightly.

**(Veilstone City 2 days later)**

"Oh man, I haven't been on a real date since I lost Dawn," Ash exhaled heavily, he pulled out the ring thinking about the time he proposed to Dawn, "things have changed so much, my dream has been put on hold and yet I feel that I can reach for it again," Ash stared at the ring whispering to himself. He looked over his right shoulder to see when Salvia was going to emerge from the hall, "at least this time it doesn't feel forced and this could be the last chance for us to relax," Ash reminded himself of the uneasy feeling he had been feeling since their arrival at the busy city.

Humming in the room the blue haired princess was choosing her dress for the night she was going to spend with Ash, "maybe tonight I will confess to him," Salvia reminded herself with a smile, confident that she would get the chance she had been waiting for, she looked towards the door and started to think about her own future, 'when I was telling Ash about the dreams I wanted to pursue, I never told him the other dream I wanted to share with him,' Salvia told herself, she picked up the next dress, it was pink in colour and had a floral pattern at the top.

'Ah that brings back memories,' a voice echoed in her mind.

In shock Salvia scanned the room in hopes to find who was talking to her, "who are you?" Salvia asked in fear, she continued to look around in hopes of finding the person, still holding the dress and not realising that the spirit was right in front of her.

Before Salvia could turn around the apparition vanished, 'put it on, Ash will love it,' the voice encouraged the royal.

Salvia looked back at the dress and pulled it in closer, "but this was Dawn's dress, she gave it to me as a gift, Dawn did so much for me, I guess I cannot live in the past, I need to keep going forward," Salvia whispered to herself as she placed the dress back on the bed.

"I put all my dreams on hold and yet…." Ash stated while thinking about his own future again.

'What thinking of giving up are we?' a voice rung in the young man's head.

Ash shot his vision around to figure out where the voice come from, "for a moment, that sounded like Dawn, but it can't be," Ash thought aloud, trying to piece together the mystery that fell before him.

Ash turned to the hallway entrance, waiting for Salvia to make her appearance, "she sure is taking her time," Ash whispered, the raven haired man started thinking about the ambitions of Salvia, he closed his eyes thinking about the potential battle between him and Salvia, "I can see it now, in the finals," Ash started to think more about the crowd and him facing the princess in the battle to decide who was going to be champion.

"What can you see Ash?" a familiar voice forced Ash to open his eyes, upon seeing Salvia in the pink dress Ash leapt back in shock, "S-S…..Salvia?"

The blue haired royal spun around, showing off the dress she was wearing, "so what do you think Ash?" she asked cheerfully, with the dress swaying around her legs, she stopped to see Ash blushing greatly, "wow Ash, your face is totally red," Salvia teased the Kanto native.

Hitting his face and trying to regain composure with the people "No-no it's not," Ash snapped back, trying his best to deny it, 'man, now she is teasing me,' Ash complained to himself, feeling like he was also caught out by the princess, he glanced up and smiled at the royal, 'but wow, she looks really cute in that dress,' Ash thought to himself with his eyes glued on Salvia, .

The people in the busy Pokemon Centre watched the young royal showing off to Ash, they started to whisper without the two noticing, "isn't that the princess?" once of the young female patrons with long red hair asked curious as to what was happening.

"Yeah, that is the princess, but the person she is trying to win over isn't a royal, odd I thought the princess had another one in line, by decree of her father, but it seems like she is making her own choice here," a teen with short brown hair whispered to his friend, but also noticed the happiness of the princess radiating in every direction, "she also seems really happy, not like the last time she was in Veilstone City," he finished up, witnessing the bluenette taking Ash's arm and pulling him out of the medical facility.

Nurse Joy walked toward the conversation and smiled at the sight, "it is very obvious, what is happening," Nurse Joy informed the two young trainers, she watched Ash getting teased by the royal again, "it is obvious to everyone around them, but the two are basically oblivious to it," she explained while the two younger trainers watched as the two walked further away.

"You mean, that those two are basically boyfriend and girlfriend now," the red head asked the nurse, almost shocked by what was happening.

"Yes but there is one problem, it seems like both of them haven't told the other how they feel," Nurse Joy sighed in displeasure.

"So the princess loves that trainer, man I am jealous," the brown haired teen replied with a frown, but was soon jumping around in pain, feeling the foot of the older girl next to him slamming down on his, in a jealous fit.

"So you like princesses do you?" the girl asked as she clenched her fists.

Walking through the town Ash and Salvia finally made it to one of their destinations, a fine restaurant, Ash was in shock at the fancy restaurant, almost hesitating to go near it, "um, I don't know about this my princess," Ash stuttered his comments.

Salvia glanced at Ash and smiled at him, "you're nervous aren't you?" she asked him with a playful tone.

"What makes you think that?" Ash asked the royal in response.

With a cheeky smile Salvia turned to Ash, taking a deep breath she crossed her arms, "my princess," Salvia tried her best to imitate Ash.

"I don't always say that," Ash denied quickly with the people watching the duo.

"If you say so," Salvia teased the young man, showing a greater amount of confidence.

The raven haired trainer walked up to the entrance and looked at the menu, in shock he noticed the pricing of the food on the menu, "how would I be able to pay for tonight?" Ash asked, scratching his head in shame, he looked at the ground, "while I was dating Dawn, I would always pay for all expenses," Ash complained with a frown.

"Well you aren't dating Dawn, plus this is kind of my treat for you and I was the one who suggested it after all," Salvia replied, grabbing the hand of the trainer and leading him into the restaurant, "no need to worry," Salvia assured the trainer leaving him disbelief at what he had heard.

"I always pay all the expense and yet this time, I am being told not to," Ash continued his complaining, he looked around to see the rich people looking at him, "um Salvia, I am not sure about this," Ash whispered but was ignored by the bluenette, as she led him towards one of the tables.

Salvia looked back and grinned at the trainer broadly, "don't be so uptight," Salvia continued to pull Ash towards one of the tables, "relax, it isn't like we will get that chance for a little while," Salvia ordered Ash.

The duo finally reached one of the tables, Ash pulled out one of the chairs to allow for the princess to sit down, Ash took his own seat, Ash looked up to find Salvia looking at the menu, with a smile on his face, he placed his right hand over the menu, "you know, I saw us having our battle at the Kalos League, in the finals," Ash informed the princess quietly.

Salvia lowered the menu and tilted her head, "great, so after we deal with the Shadow Lords, we better make that our priority, plus, you are the one I want to battle," Salvia responded quickly, confessing her interest in battling the man in front of her, "also order what you want, I know you want to pay all expenses, so don't concern over it, I will pay it, after all I am the princess of this region so naturally I am very rich," Salvia explained to Ash much to his chagrin.

Ash picked up the menu and noticed how expensive the place was, he scanned the menu, now feeling even more ashamed, 'oh man, Salvia isn't worried what I order?' Ash started to question himself.

The waiter walked up to the table, prepared to take the order, "I am your waiter for tonight, is there anything you would like to order?" the man dressed in white with black pants asked the two.

"I would like to have the mixed Sushi Platter please," Salvia replied with a broad smile, confident in her choice.

Ash looked down and much to his shock discovered the sushi platter's pricing, 'oh man, that is expensive,' Ash almost hit the floor, he continued to scan the menu, panicking for a moment, 'she intends to share the Sushi platter with me,' Ash thought ignoring the call of the waiter and Salvia, "can we follow that up with a riceball plate as well please?" Ash requested, feeling a guilty that the princess was going to pay for the meal.

The waiter walked away with the menus, leaving Ash and Salvia alone for a moment, "so Ash, after this, how about you choose a place?" Salvia suggested to Ash who was still feeling upset that Salvia was going to pay for the meal, "you're still upset that I am pay for the expenses?" she laughed at the trainer's expense.

"Humiliated more like it, I really wanted to pay all the expenses," Ash reminded the princess of his disdain.

"You take pride in being a gentleman don't you?" she continued to tease the young man, she noticed Ash crossing his arms, still not pleased with the situation. Salvia started to giggle at the trainer placing her hand over her mouth, "sorry about that Ash, but I also needed to talk to you about Kalos," Salvia placed her hands on the table, "what is it like?" she asked curiously about to jump out of her seat.

"Kalos, well, it is a beautiful region, but I will tell you about some of it," Ash answered, he remembered the people he travelled with and the sites he had seen, "there is this amazing palace, where at night you can stand on the balcony to watch fireworks, it has an amazing garden that where pokemon are allowed to run around freely," Ash explained to the blue haired royal as her eyes lit up.

"The palace with the fireworks kind of sounds…. No forget it," Salvia started to blush a little, she started to imagine the fireworks display with her standing next to Ash, 'I can picture it now, Ash and me at the palace watching the fireworks together.'

"Then in the biggest city in the region, there is this tower in the middle of the city which also doubles as a gym for the trainers," Ash interrupted the blue haired royal in her thought process, "at night time my friend, lights up the tower which illuminates the rest of the city," Ash explained the site to the young royal.

"Wow Dawn must have loved those places," Salvia replied, but was soon met with a loud thud on the table, witnessing Ash hitting it angrily.

"I never took Dawn to Kalos," Ash retorted in disappointment, leaving Salvia saddened by his words, she lowered her eyes at the table and showed signs of being moved to tears. Ash looked up and noticed the sadness in Salvia's expression, extending his hand out he wiped away Salvia's tears, "we both wanted to take our own paths for a while, after returning from Kalos, I decided it would be nice to revisit Kalos, but with Dawn, before I got the chance…..well we both know what happened," Ash explained to the princess who was shocked to hear Ash talking about it, almost happy at the same time.

"You never talked about how you were feeling before, it really seems like you are trying to move on," Salvia expressed her joy to Ash.

"I have accepted reality a while ago, I needed to move on and find someone I needed to share my life with," Ash responded quietly, the Sushi Platter was placed in front of them, he watched Salvia picking up a sushi roll and moving closer to her mouth, "plus I have found someone that I would love to share my life with," Ash confessed.

Upon hearing Ash's comment Salvia halted and started to shake, now she was hoping that Ash would tell her, "really?" Salvia tried to bottle up her excitement.

"Yeah, I just don't know if she feels the same way," Ash answered softly, picking up a one of the sushi rolls.

"Well then you need to tell her," Salvia instructed Ash with a gentle tone, she placed the sushi roll in her mouth and started eating her meal.

"It's you," Ash responded causing Salvia to almost choke on her food, "I was lost for a while, but you showed me the way I needed to take," Ash expressed his gratitude to Salvia, but soon stopped when he noticed Salvia struggling to swallow her food, he picked up a glass of water and handed it to the princess, watching Salvia gulp down on the water he admired her for a moment and smiled broadly, "thank you."

Salvia placed the glass down and looked up with her face turning bright red, 'he thanked me, that I didn't really expect,' Salvia thought to herself, she started to remember the times she felt Ash shrugged her off, then the Christmas Day conversation with their friends, 'is it true, does Ash really love me?' she started to question herself as she continued to eat the food in front of her.

After enjoying their meal, Salvia paid the bill, leaving Ash feeling a little bitter about him not paying, 'why did she insist in paying the bill?' Ash asked himself, the two walked towards the Pokemon Centre, on the way there the raven haired trainer felt Salvia gripping his hand, he looked down and then looked back up, he turned his hand around and walked back to the medical facility holding hands.

Salvia focused her eyes on Ash and smiled at the young man, "have you decided where we will be going tonight?" she asked him, but he didn't respond, she grew a little perplexed by the silence Ash was displaying, "if your silence has anything to do with me paying for tonight, I would be a little upset with you," Salvia continued to defend her decision to pay for the meal.

"Don't worry, I was thinking about something else," Ash replied quietly, "I am going to travel through Kalos again, this time, I want you to travel with me," Ash stated his intentions to Salvia, wanting her to go with him.

* * *

**With the group of friends edging closer to the final battle, declaring their dreams, they head to Arrowroot Town with the mission of defeating Pride once and for all.**

**Next time chapter 32: before time runs out.**

**almost done folks, the last lot of chapters are on their way.**


	32. Before time runs out

**Chapter 32: Before time runs out.**

_**Summary:**_ _with hope restored in their dreams Ash and Salvia head to the final conflict, this time fighting for the dreams they seek and the future they refuse to be denied of._

* * *

Sitting in the pokemon centre Ash was sitting in front of the computer searching for the flights for the planned trip to Kalos, "three months from now would be a great time," Ash whispered to himself, he clicked on the tickets and hesitated for a moment.

"What are you doing?" the princess voice asked Ash.

Ash quickly minimised the screen to prevent the blue haired royal wouldn't see the trip he was planning for her, he turned around and smiled at her, "nothing, just searching for a where I can challenge Cynthia next," Ash lied to the princess.

Salvia placed her hands on her hips and moved in closer to Ash, "if you are going to lie, at least make it believable, in fact you're a bad liar," Salvia informed the trainer who was looking back at the computer with shame, "let's see what you're searching for," Salvia moved her left hand towards the mouse, but before she reached it, Ash pushed her hand aside, surprised by this she shook her head, "what are you hiding?" Salvia asked the young man.

"It's a surprise," Ash announced sternly.

Salvia stepped back and took a deep breath, "alright, but we need to leave soon, we need to head to Arrowroot Town," Salvia explained, leaving to pick up her stuff, "I am going to put on a new attire, so that means you have one hour before we save my home," Salvia walked away, telling Ash of the mission they were going to take.

"A new attire?" Ash questioned quietly, he reopened the screen and finished his order. After making his purchase, he lowered his hand and started to shake with anger, "home, I haven't been there in nearly a year," Ash reminded himself, opening up another screen, he noticed the flights heading to Pallet Town, he quickly made another purchase, "well that leaves me with no money now, but I need to see home again," Ash told himself as he waited for Salvia to emerge from the hallway.

"Hmmmm, this outfit isn't all that nice, but that leaves just one more," Salvia glanced over to an outfit consisting of a black blouse and a red dress, black stockings and shoes, "I guess this one will do nicely. Moments later Salvia was looking in the mirror admiring her new outfit.

After waiting Salvia emerged from the hallway, with her new red hat in hand, "so Ash, what do you think?" she asked the waiting trainer.

Ash was in shock at the site of the young princess wearing the same attire as one of his friends, 'she is wearing the same outfit as Serena,' Ash thought as he watched her putting on the felt red hat, 'she looks really cute in that outfit,' Ash started laughing at his thoughts, upsetting the princess, "it's fine Salvia, you look great in that outfit," Ash admitted with a hint of embarrassment, "in fact, you look cute in that attire," Ash informed the princess.

Shocked by the admission Salvia started blushing heavily, 'of course he would say that, after all he is in love with me,' Salvia thought, turning away to hide the redness of her face, 'if only I had the courage to tell him I feel the same way,' her train of thought continued on.

"Come on Salvia, time for us to go," Ash called to the royal, she nodded and followed Ash out the door.

"Before we go, we need to get supplies," Salvia quickly informed Ash about their lack of food. Ash started to chuckle at the idea, knowing now that he had no money to restock on food, Salvia was quick to notice his reaction, she grabbed his arm and forced him to turn around, "you have no money left, don't you?"

"What makes you think that?" Ash questioned the princess softly.

"You're easy to read," Salvia replied with a broad smile gracing her face, she let go of Ash's hand and shook her head, "what did you spend all that money on?" she asked him, this time being sterner about her approach.

"It's a surprise," Ash quickly responded to the question, but the blue haired royal wasn't happy with the response, she grabbed his right arm to prevent him from walking away, "my princess?" Ash quickly replied.

Salvia glared at Ash furiously, immediately noticing the trembling in the voice of Ash, "I knew it, you spent all your money on the surprise," Salvia pointed out in anger, she crossed her arms, visbly upset, "you do not need to spend all your money to surprise me, if that means you not being able to buy your food and drinks, it really concerns me that you would resort to that," Salvia explained to Ash causing him to step back in fear, "just what did you buy?" Salvia questioned Ash furiously.

"A plane ticket to Kanto," Ash replied with half of the truth.

Shaking her head the princess turned around, "you didn't just buy one ticket, I am guessing you bought three tickets, since you admitted to buying for Kanto, I am guessing you bought tickets to one other region," Salvia quickly told Ash as she walked away to get the supplies needed for the trip to her home town.

Ash remained glued to the spot after hearing Salvia scathing comments, 'man, she saw right through me,' Ash thought to himself as he looked up and watched Salvia walking towards the shops, "this is great, I made her angry at me," Ash chastised himself for lying to Salvia.

"Yo Ash, it's been a while!" a male voice called out to Ash.

Ash turned around to find Hilda and Hilbert approaching him, "hey you two, when did you get here?" Ash asked sheepishly.

Hilda shook her head in disdain at the trainer, "Ash, Ash, Ash, what made you think that Salvia wasn't going to see through your lie?" Hilda asked her friend.

Ash jumped back in shock, "but I didn't….oh right you have psychic abilities," Ash submitted to his friend, he looked at the ground in shame, "I just wanted to surprise her by taking her to Kalos with me," Ash admitted to his friends.

"Come on Ash, how long will it take for you to take the hint? And a very obvious one too," Hilbert teased his friend.

Ash scratched the back of his head and smiled at his Unova friends, "oh come on guys give me a break, I am trying, but I kind of fear what Salvia thinks of me," Ash confessed to his friends, not realising that she was watching from a safe distance.

'She is nearby,' Hilda thought, scanning the area. She quickly focused on Ash who laughing at his own expense, "listen Ash, Salvia doesn't want you to change everything about yourself, spend all your money on a trip, she wants you to be happy," Hilda informed the raven haired trainer wisely, she turned around and started walking towards the next road.

"What did you say about Salvia in Celestic Town?" Hilbert asked his friend softly.

Ash lowered his head and stared at the ground, smiling at himself, "I am in love with Salvia, but I will expand on it now, I want to make her happy, to show her the world and hopefully one day…no forget it, she is my princess," Ash finished as his friends looked at one another with a broad smile.

Salvia meanwhile continued to watch the conversation from behind one of the buildings in the really busy city, her heart was racing and her face turning red, thinking about what she had heard from Ash, 'he said it again to our friends, but I really want him to tell me to my face,' Salvia thought to herself as she turned around, "so many things have changed since we met again, the biggest is the fact that I have fallen in love with Ash," she whispered to herself, she glanced back to see Ash standing in the middle of the pathway on his own, stopping for a moment, she turned around and thought about the first time they met in years, "that's right, he was alone when we met in Canalave City, he wanted no one to assist him," she whispered softly.

Salvia started to walk closer to Ash, her hand reaching out to him, "I guess I was a little at fault for being angry at Ash, he is trying really hard for my sake," Salvia reminded herself, she lowered her hand and stared at his back for a moment, turning around she started leaving for the shops.

"Salvia, I am sorry for lying to you, I bought plane tickets to the Kalos region for the both of us, I really wanted to surprise you, but I guess I messed up a little," Ash apologised to the princess.

"I shouldn't have gotten angry at you, you're…" Salvia quickly stopped mid-sentence and turned around to hide the redness on her face, "let's go and get the supplies together," Salvia suggested.

"Salvia," Ash muttered under his breath, he followed the young royal to the shops.

"I have been thinking," Salvia sighed, she continued down the road towards the shop, "training pokemon apart from Gardevoir and Dratini would be really nice, to lead a normal life, but since I am a princess, I will be having a lot of things I need to do, I will be queen one day," Salvia explained to Ash.

**(Arrowroot Town)**

Pride was sitting on the throne with a golden crown and a red cape, also wearing a red attire, "so things are coming together nicely, soon the princess will be arriving," watching the guards preparing for war with the other regions, 'everything will change very soon, first the Unova region, I will make their king and suffer for getting involved with something that doesn't concern them,' Pride thought to himself, laughing at the situation that was unfolding.

Standing up he walked to the balcony on the left side of the room, "not so long ago, Unova started their invasion of the Sinnoh Region!" Pride declared in a confident tone, he looked down at the soldiers who were yelling their anger out, 'very soon the rest of my comrades will be brought back again,' Pride thought as he looked up to the skies, "we just need the right candidates, I know how about the Aura Master's friends?" he suggested with a devious expression.

Pride turned back to the palace, hearing the yells of the soldiers, "with the soldiers going to fight in Unova, are we going to sleep afterwards?" Sloth asked his leader.

Pride looked up to the last of his comrades, "no, the war games begin, this is where we need you, to destroy the king and queen of Unova, who are gallivanting around this region," Pride instructed the menacing figure.

"But that is so boring, it is such a pain, I don't want to defeat them," Sloth answered back, walking slowly towards the door.

Outside one of the soldiers walked out of the palace walls, "this isn't good, Pride is going to use this situation to start another global war, this needs to stop," the soldier whispered to himself, he started running away from the palace, hoping that he wasn't going to get caught, he noticed the powerful ships at the harbour, "I hope that the princess returns before it is too late," the man stated with a concerned expression.

"Those two aren't too far away," a man with short purple hair approached the soldier, "let me guess Pride lied about the status of Salvia, and is using it to start a war between regions," he explained quickly after assessing the situation.

"Who are you?" the soldier asked the young man.

"My name is Paul, I have been helping the Queen and King of Unova as well as the princess of this region," he introduced himself to the Unova soldier.

"The king and Queen are here?" the soldier asked in disbelief. Paul nodded in reply, looking towards the ships that were getting prepared, "they aren't supposed to be here, why are they here?" he asked the purple haired trainer.

"I don't know, why not ask them yourself," Paul retorted as he started to walk towards the harbour. Paul looked back and smirked at the soldier, "they will be here in the next few days, with the Princess and my friend, meanwhile I am going to stop these bastards from making a move they will only regret later," Paul informed the soldier sternly. Slowly walking towards the harbour, he looked back once again and quietly nodded at the soldier, running off to his next battle, 'I will make the Shadow Lords pay for the death of my friend,' Paul told himself as he continued on towards the next battle.

"Wow that man is brave, heading off to stop a potential war," the soldier complimented the Sinnoh Native. Watching him heading out to te final part of the conflict, "well if he is going to put his life on the line for his friends and this region, then I need to do the same for both Unova and Sinnoh," the man whispered as her started to remove his hood, "my time of hiding has come to an end, everyone thought I was dead," the man removed his hood revealing his long green hair, looking back in the distance he smirked a the palace, "Greed, I hope you are keeping your end of the bargain," N whispered as he walked away from the palace walls.

**(Pastoria City)**

Greed was walking to the exit of the city, his thoughts directed at the last stages of the conflict, "I hope N is getting all the information we need," Greed whispered, he looked around again, thinking about the events that led up to what would be the final confrontation, "N, it is almost time to surprise all your friends, do you still remember the time I saved your life after the ambush of Lust and Envy?" Greed asked himself proud of his own actions in the past.

**(Flashback)**

Greed walked up to the severely injured N, he looked back to see if the other Shadow Lords were still walking away, N winced in pain as he rested on the ground, "well are you going to finish me off?" N asked weakly.

"No, I am here to help," Greed responded assuring the former leader of Team Plasma, "for now you need to pretend that you are dead, to throw off the other Shadow Lords and to time your return correctly, I will be heading back to Sinnoh, but first….." Greed kneeled down to pick up the green haired man, placing his arm around him he started walking him to a secret hideout in the middle of the forest.

Upon entering the wooden cabin the two men were greeted by two woman, both long hair, one with pink hair and the other with blonde hair, both wearing dresses, they both spotted the young man who was unconscious, "N!" the two women called out in concern.

"He was ambushed by my former comrades, I know you two are able to help him out," Greed helped N to one of the beds in the cabin, "he is still alive, but has sustained critical injuries," Greed informed the two women, he walked back to the door but was stopped by the two occupants.

"You will pay for this," the woman with pink hair informed the Shadow Lord.

"Anthea…..Concordia," N struggled to call for his foster sisters, the two women jolted their vision to the injured man, "let him go," N instructed the sisters, they stepped aside letting the Shadow Lord leave the cabin.

Greed walked up to the door and glanced back, "don't rush to Sinnoh yet," Greed instructed the King of Unova.

"Wait, there are two people that need to take my place, their picture is on that desk," N informed the Shadow Lord.

Greed walked up to the desk and grabbed the picture, a picture of Hilda and Hilbert, "wow the girl is pretty cute," Greed looked at the two trainers clinging to one another, "wait a minute, you're passing this much responsibility to two kids?" Greed questioned, but no response arrived.

Concordia approached the Shadow Lord, "N trusts those two, in fact he has admitted a few times that they are better suited for the role than he is," she informed the Shadow Lord, "also keep their coronation a secret, if your former comrades find out what really happened, they would arrive before N is fully recovered," the blonde haired woman explained to Greed.

"Very well, then I will provide all the information your friends need to know, so for now I will work as a double agent," Greed brought up the idea, leaving the two women to help out their foster brother, Greed looked at the picture again, 'my mission is clear now, making sure those two are safe, while I keep the princess of Sinnoh safe, man, my hands are going to be full with this task,' Greed started complaining about his mission.

"Yo Greed, where did you go to?" Envy asked his ally.

"Destroying the evidence," Greed answered quickly.

"Well that would have been fun, I really envy the task you performed for us, I would have done it, but Lust doesn't want me to dirty my hands with such a nasty task, we always leave the dirty work up to you Greed," Envy informed the person who he thought was his comrade.

Greed halted and watched his comrades walking away, he then turned his eyes to Envy who was confidently walking away, happy with the job he had completed, 'you bastard, thinking that I will follow Pride's orders, you should have been up to the task yourself, not killing N when you had the chance will come back to haunt you, no you will be dead before that time comes, no you failure will destroy Pride in the end.'

**(3 days earlier)**

At Hearthome City Greed was sitting down reading a book, thinking about how things were going, Nurse Joy walked up to the Shadow Lord, "there is call for you Greed," the Nurse informed the man with a concerned tone.

Walking up to the phone Greed stared at the screen in shock, "took you long enough to recover," Greed remarked with sarcasm, he sat down and started laughing, "Hilda and Hilbert are doing well, they are in Sinnoh, trying to stop Pride from succeeding," Greed informed the Unova native.

"I gathered that, but I am also in Sinnoh in Arrowroot Town," N confessed his whereabouts to Greed.

"You idiot, I told you to wait," Greed yelled at the green haired man.

"I am not going to sit and wait as my friends put their lives on the line to save the Pokemon World," N retorted firmly, "I have also made a decision, I am not retaking the throne of Unova either, the role will be permanently taken by Hilda and Hilbert," N explained his intentions to Greed who was in shock at what he had heard.

"Fine," Greed shook his head, "do you want to know something about the princess of this region?" Greed asked his friend calmly.

"Salvia right, I heard she is next in line to take the throne, if only she was alive to take it, Pride has taken this region's throne and declared the last in line was killed in action, he even lied about the orders the last king gave him about making him king," N explained the situation to Greed, the former member of the Shadow Lords shook his head in disdain.

Greed took a deep breath and maintained his anger at his former leader, "that is a lie, Salvia is still alive and is on her way back to palace with a man named Ash, to top it all off, those two are in love with each other, so this region has a new generation of king and queen," Greed explained with confidence in his words, he pulled out a picture of Hilda and Hilbert, "plus Hilda and Hilbert have become great friends with Ash and Salvia," Greed pointed out with great joy.

"So it seems like Ash has got involved, that's just like him," N chuckled at the mention of the involvement of his other friend.

"Yeah that was my fault, I accidently killed his fiancé, some part of me feels that he has still yet to forgive me, so I am doing what I can to atone for my sins, even if it means sacrificing my life for Ash and Salvia," Greed explained his problems to N, he put the photo in his pocket and looked back to see Melissa helping the people of the city out, "I don't want Melissa involved still, I want her to go back to Kanto and rebuild the Kanto/Johto Kingdom," Greed confessed to N who was watching the Shadow Lord with concern.

"Well this is where I end my call, stay safe, I will see you soon enough," N ended the call, leaving the Shadow Lord to ponder his next plan.

**(End of Flashback and South of Veilstone City)**

Ash was staring out into the distance, ignoring the people walking through the tree lined route and the pokemon flying overhead, the ground based pokemon running around in a carefree manner, his thoughts about how much had changed for him, hearing the cries of the pokemon, he closed his eyes and thought about his previous journeys, his friends and he pokemon he travelled with, "Dawn, if you're seeing this, I have decided what I need to do, once the Shadow Lords are defeated, I am going to confess my new found love to Salvia," Ash whispered, with hopes that his deceased love would hear his words.

Meanwhile behind a tree, a spirit was hearing Ash talking, a smile graced her mouth as she turned to see Ash being approached by the princess, 'Ash, this is great news, but there is still something I need to do, so I will be doing my last act of love for you Ash, helping you defeat the Shadow Lords,' Dawn vanished, making her promise to help Ash out.

"Come on Ash, we need to get to Arrowroot Town," Salvia rushed a head after handing Ash the bag f supplies.

"Hey you two!" Hilbert called to his friends, "we're coming as well," Hilbert reminded his friends, rushing up to Ash and Salvia who were ignoring him.

"Wait! We want to help out as well!" Hilda reminded her two friends also running up to Ash and the princess.

Ash sighed for a moment and shook his head, he looked back to find that Hilda and Hilbert, "I thought you were going to go home," Ash complained, displeased with the involvement of the king and queen of Unova.

"Sorry, but I get the feeling that we are needed there," Hilda informed the trainer.

Salvia grabbed the right arm of her love interest and pulled him away from the duo, "we do need all the help we can get, plus those two have helped us out," Salvia whispered as she glanced over at the two royals, "if Hilda says she has a feeling that her and Hilbert need to be there, then who are we to stop them? Plus I want to strengthen the ties between Sinnoh and Unova," Salvia reminded Ash who was looking away with disdain.

Ash glanced back and nodded, "fine, but on one condition, you two will become my second and third rivals of Kalos," Ash announced with a confident smirk, throwing down his gauntlet against the Unova royals.

Hilda clenched her fists and nodded at the raven haired trainer, "alright, challenge accepted, I was kind of hoping that you would ask for Hilbert and me to challenge," Hilda confessed with great joy, she walked up to Ash and extended her hand out to him, "you know something Ash? Since I have arrived in Sinnoh and met you, I had been wanting to challenge you to a battle, something about you tells me that you are a really strong trainer," Hilda explained her interest in Ash as a trainer.

"Thanks," Ash replied softly, he looked down in shame and took a deep breath, "I lost my starter pokemon Pikachu all because of the Shadow Lords, as well as my family," Ash informed the brunette.

"You lost your family? Wow that is horrible," Hilbert replied with a saddened tone.

"No worries Ash, from now on I will be your big sister," Hilda told Ash as she held out her hand to Ash.

Ash started laughing at the suggestion, "big sister ha, I bet you're younger than I am," Ash teased the Unova queen.

"I am twenty years old," Hilda snapped back at Ash.

"That makes you my little sister, I am a year older than you," Ash retorted as he shook the hand of Hilda.

Hilda puffed up her cheeks and crossed her arms, "crap, I thought you were at least nineteen," she complained, turning away from Ash. Smiling broadly she returned her focus to Ash and Salvia, "alright big brother, you lead the way," Hilda pushed Ash in front of the group.

Hilbert and Salvia stood watching, "while we were here, Hilda always talked about how much she liked Ash," Hilbert admitted calmly, seeing his wife smiling playfully as she tried her best to get Ash to lead the three other people. "She also has been trying to formulate crazy schemes to try and get you and Ash to confess as well," Hilbert started laughing while being called over by his wife.

"Hilbert, I listened in on the conversations between you and Ash," Salvia commented as she looked up at the trainer, seeing Ash trying to resist the strength of Hilda, "I have let myself down a few times, I have tried to confess my feelings to Ash, but most times I am too nervous to even start with I," Salvia explained to the Unova native.

"So you know he is in love with you, knowing him, he will wait to tell you after the Shadow Lords are defeated, so maybe you should also wait for that time," Hilbert advised the princess who was shaking her head in sadness, "I think the reason why Ash doesn't want to confess right now, is because of Pride," Hilbert informed the younger royal as he started walking up to the group, "you are Ash's biggest weakness, Pride said so himself, so maybe Ash didn't want you to know until after the Shadow Lords were defeated," Hilbert explained to the princess.

"Hilbert wait," Salvia called to her friend, she gulped as her face lit up with a broad smile, "it has been the worst kept secret hasn't it?" the princess asked the Unova king.

"Yes it has," Hilbert replied softly.

"I guess the only one that doesn't know is Ash," Salvia replied quietly, she looked up at the brown haired trainer and smiled, "you're all right, everyone knows that I love Ash with all my heart," Salvia informed the young man.

"Then when the time is right, tell him with all your heart, I think that would be the one thing that makes him really happy," Hilbert told the princess, peering over to Ash who stepped aside causing Hilda to trip over and hitting the ground, resisting the urge to laugh at his wife, he walked over to her, struggling to hold back his laughter.

Salvia walked slowly, approaching Ash smiling at him, "he now has a sister," Salvia whispered as she gulped at the thought of her next comment, she smiled broadly at the trainer who was laughing at Hilda's expense. Salvia halted for a moment and looked up at the sky, "Dawn, if you are hearing this, one day I am going to be Ash's wife," Salvia whispered softly, with a determined expression plastered over her face, she glued her eyes on Ash, "after the Shadow Lords are defeated, I am going to confess my love to Ash, I am going to stay at his side for the rest of my life, no I am going to be there forever," Salvia resolved her intentions with her own form of courage.

* * *

**With one secret about to be revealed to Hilda and Hilbert, and the resolve of the princess to confess her feelings to Ash, they head to the final conflict that will decide the fate of the Pokemon World. With new promises made and a new bond forged, how will things go for the four companions?**

**Next time Chapter 33: Sloth's awakening.**

Almost done my friends, with only four chapters to be released, I will be making sure Ash and Salvia get their confession in the last chapter. But the Epilogue chapter will be different than the one I intended for.


	33. Sloth's Awakening

_**Chapter 33: Sloth's awakening.**_

_**Sorry for taking a little longer than expected, I accidently deleted the next few chapters as well as the final chapter, forgetting to put it on my hard drive. Also sorry for the false alarm, made an error in the initial release of the chapter.**_

* * *

**(3 days earlier)**

"Sloth, your mission is really simple, head to where the enemy is, south of Veilstone City," Pride instructed the last of his comrades, he turned away and walked up the secret stairwell of the palace, his smile broad, he peered back to see Sloth walking slowly towards the wall, "don't hold back," Pride instructed his ally.

"Yes…..I will not fail," Sloth replied slowly.

"Good," Pride retorted calmly, he started laughing as the thoughts of his plan, "soon I will use the full might of the Sinnoh forces to destroy and recreate," he whispered to himself. He walked up the stairway and entered the hallway, he looked around to see where the guards were, only to be greeted by a man with long green hair, wearing a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt, "who are you?" he asked the mystery man.

"I am N, thought I would come to see what the fuss was about," the man introduced himself to the Shadow Lord leader.

Pride growled at the former Plasma member, clenching his fists angrily he punched the wall causing it to crumble away, "I thought you were dead!" He yelled out furiously.

"What's the matter, couldn't keep tabs on Greed I see, that fool saved my life," N remarked with a hint of sarcasm, "Envy and Lust got a number on me with that ambush a couple of years ago, luckily Greed wasn't exactly on your side," N stated as he walked towards the Shadow Lord leader.

"By now, I think the navy you were amassing will find some trouble, I met a young man wanting to end your plans as well, he was seeking revenge for a friend," N explained to the Shadow Lord, he was brushed aside by Pride, he watched him running towards the balcony on the second floor, "that's right, Paul is going to end your conquest plan, much like my other friends, Ash, Hilda and Hilbert."

Pride rushed onto the balcony as the smoke started to rise in one of the buildings in the distance, "guards go to that location right now!" Pride ordered the soldiers in a panic, growing more angry at being out smarted by two enemies he hit the railing in a rage, he looked back to see that the man had vanished almost as fast as he appeared, "damn you N, for humiliating me, I am going to make you suffer, your friends are also dead!" Pride yelled out his threats in a rage that caused the windows to vibrate.

"Threaten me as much as you want, that isn't going to stop you inevitable failure," N's voice echoed through the halls

**(3 days later)**

Ash, Salvia, Hilda and Hilbert were sitting at the camp fire discussing the plans for the upcoming battle against the last of the Shadow Lords, "alright, it seems like we have a plan, Ash and Salvia will be going ahead of us, since I can sense the presence of another Shadow Lord," Hilda explained to Ash and Salvia, she scanned the area and noticed that he was getting closer.

"Yeah, this isn't Greed, it will more than likely be Sloth," Hilbert acknowledged with a deep breath. The Unova king placed his hand over his chin and started to think about the next stage, "our problem is, Sloth isn't an enemy we can take lightly," Hilbert stated his concerns about the final stages of the battle.

Hilda placed her hand over her right wrist and gulped for a moment, "maybe I should…" she started before ending the sentence prematurely.

"No Hilda, we don't want you to lose control over your abilities, remember what happened the last time?" Hilbert enquired, the question now caused some confusion with Ash and Salvia.

Hilda glanced over to Ash and Salvia, they were staring at her wondering what secret was being held back, "I think it is time for them to know just what I am capable of," Hilda replied to Hilbert, she stood up and started walking towards the forest, "Ash can I talk to you for a moment? I have a question I want to ask you," Hilda finished her request.

"Why me? Can't it be Salvia?" he asked in a puzzled tone.

"No, it is you I need to talk to," Hilda specified, she walked ahead of Ash leaving Hilbert and Salvia behind.

After waiting for the two to leave the area, Hilbert turned to Salvia and rolled up the maps, "so Salvia, have you said anything to Ash?" Hilbert asked the princess calmly.

"About what?" the confused princess questioned the Unova king.

Hilbert started laughing at the princess, shaking his head he watched Ash walking into the forest, "haven't you confessed yet?" Hilbert asked the young royal.

With her face turning red, Salvia covered her face to hide her blush, "w-w…why do you ask?" the shocked princess responded quickly.

"It is pretty clear to everyone that knows you," Hilbert answered with a chuckle, "you're in love with Ash," Hilbert told the princess catching her off guard, stuttering in her attempt to come up with an answer, she gulped at the comment, "come on Salvia, the longer you wait to tell him…."

"I know, but I am nervous," Salvia snapped back in fear, "I have never been in love before, the emotions is something that I have never experienced before," Salvia tried her best to explain it.

"Seems like you are making an excuse there," Hilbert pointed out with a sigh, "alright then answer me this, when he is feeling down, what is the first thing going through your mind?" Hilbert asked the princess.

Salvia closed her eyes and turned her head to look out into the distance, upon turning towards a tree, she spotted a familiar figure, a smile on her face, she nodded at her causing the princess to shoot open her eyes, in shock she turned back to the tree yet again this time no one was standing there, 'lady Dawn?' Salvia remembered the friend that she had lost. Again Salvia looked at the ground and smiled, "how I can be there when he needs me the most, to keep him from feeling sad again," Salvia answered her friend as best as she could.

"I see, you would pick him up when he is down," Hilbert retorted softly, opening up his, he pulled out a book and handed it to the princess, "here this is yours, I get the feeling the best way to his heart is through his stomach," Hilbert joked, laughing at the cookbook.

"Me cook? I have never cooked before," Salvia hesitated in her response she looked at the book and gulped at the possibility, 'well Ash does love eating.'

Meanwhile in the forest Hilda led the raven haired man to the lake front, "I am sorry for putting that suggestion up," Hilda apologized, she knelt down and stared at her reflection, "if it wasn't for Hilbert, I would be alone in this world," Hilda admitted to Ash.

"Alone? I thought you have a family to talk to in Unova," Ash replied quickly.

"I lost my mother and father four years ago," Hilda replied as memories started to flow in her mind, painful and scary memories that still haunted her, "the truth Ash, my parents died because it was my fault."

"What happened?" Ash asked his friend gently.

"It's something you don't know about me," Hilda answered in a riddle, "as you know, I have psychic abilities, but I only use a fraction of my psychic powers, the rest are being held back by this bracelet," Hilda explained to Ash, revealing a golden bangle around her wrist, with tears flowing down her face, "my powers got out of control and my family got caught up in the vortex that destroyed my home," Hilda confessed her pain to Ash.

"I tried to save someone I loved and I failed," Ash replied solemnly.

Hilda looked out into the distance to see the spirit of a young blue haired woman looking on from a distance, "I know, Dawn is a really nice person," Hilda replied to Ash, catching him off guard, "you might think how do I know who Dawn is?" Hilda watched the spirit disappear, "I can speak to the dead, which is something I am capable of, she looks like Princess Salvia too."

Ash stepped back until his back made contact with a tree, "blue hair?" Ash asked to which Hilda nodded, Ash knelt to the ground, upset about the revelation that Dawn was now a ghost and following him, "why?" Ash asked with tears starting to flow.

"I cannot answer, in fact I am not allowed to answer, she will tell you herself when she is ready," Hilda responded softly, she turned to Ash and noticed his back turned to her, "I am sorry Ash," Hilda apologized to the Kanto native.

"For what?" Ash asked coldly, but was trying his best to hold back his emotions.

"For bringing this up, I know you have a lot on your mind, but I just want you, like everyone else to be happy," Hilda answered as she approached Ash, placing her hand on his shoulder, Hilda looked out to her husband and Salvia, "you know something, you need to tell her," Hilda reminded Ash playfully.

"But I am scared of what might happen, I am scared that I might lose her," Ash responded fearfully, his gaze fixed on Salvia.

Ash felt Hilda hugging him making him feel uneasy, "you are a special friend of mine, we can relate on so many things, it is like you are the male version of me," Hilda stated with a warm smile, "I was serious yesterday when I said that I wanted to make you my brother," Hilda confessed, stepping back from Ash, she tilted her head as the trainer looked back at her, "I want to support you in your pursuit of Salvia, but you need to stop beating yourself up for something that wasn't your fault," Hilda chastised Ash with a smile.

"Why are you so adamant in being my sister?" Ash asked calmly.

Hilda started laughing as she walked ahead of the trainer, "because I love you," the brunette answered Ash, the young man gasped in shock at the admission of the Hilda, "hey don't think I love you in that manner, unless…." Hilda started to tease the trainer.

"No, I was just surprised that's all," Ash replied with a gulp, he turned his gaze to the princess, "I just didn't expect someone to want to be my sibling," Ash confessed as he grew a more serious expression, 'he is nearby,' Ash thought.

"You sense his aura right? Big brother?" Hilda asked the young man.

"Yeah, I do," Ash replied coldly, "he isn't far, besides I can sense three more people approaching pretty quickly," Ash commented calmly.

Hilda raised her right hand, nodded at the young man and smiled, "from this day forward," Hilda started with a smile.

"We are now brother and sister," Ash finished as he clasped Hilda's hand with his left hand.

"As brother and sister, let's make this world a better place for all," Ash and Hilda promised, the two nodded only to be separated by the appearance of the enemy, landing in opposite directions, "looks like we have some company," Ash confirmed with Hilda.

"Go, we will take care of this bastard," Hilda replied, watching Ash charge in with an aura based attack, "wait big bro, don't charge in this battle isn't yours!" Hilda yelled out her concerns, she shook her head, 'not related by blood, but we have the same tendencies to charge in without thinking,' Hilda admitted to herself, witnessing the enemy being hit with a powerful aura based attack.

Ash landed next to Hilda and the two nodded, "alright sis, I will leave this to you, Salvia, Greed and I will head out to defeat the last Shadow Lord, I will see you soon," Ash replied as he glanced up at the powerful foe , "so, you finally showed yourself," Ash commented with a smirk.

"Ah the lazy bastard of the Shadow Lords," another person called out to the much larger foe, he looked back at the brunette and smiled at her, "and you what were you thinking about? Telling Ash that you love him," Greed teased his Unova friend.

"What I cannot love my friends?" Hilda asked the former member of the Shadow Lords, "plus I have decided to make Ash my brother, so family is meant to love each other," Hilda ferociously growled at her friend.

"Fine, I was only teasing, besides Ash, you're coming with me, we are taking Salvia to Arrowroot Town," Greed informed Ash about the new direction.

"Then that leaves Hilbert, Dusk and myself to fight off Sloth," Hilda clenched her right fist, preparing to fight off the enemy. With her eyes glowing blue she unleashed a burst of energy knocking the Shadow Lord back, "go my brother, with the help of our friends, we will bring an end to this Shadow Lord," Hilda declared her intentions, preparing to take off her bracelet again, 'I have waited for this day to arrive, this time I will end the Shadow Lord Sloth,' Hilda slowly removed the bracelet, "this time for certain," Hilda dropped the bracelet onto the ground.

Before she started to attack another young woman appeared this time kicking the enemy with all her might, "I am not going to miss out on this party," Dusk landed next to her friend, she started to sense the power concentrating around the brunette, "so you finally decide to stop holding back, this is going to be fun, I cannot wait to snap Sloth's neck," a sadistic Dusk declared her intentions to the enemy.

Hilbert entered the forest after passing by his two friends, he noticed that his wife had taken off her bracelet, the golden ring on the forest floor as parts of the forest started to uproot, "Hilda, why did you remove the bracelet?!" Hilbert asked the brunette, only to have the item being flung towards, catching the bracelet he looked at it for a moment and shook his head.

Ash, Salvia and Greed rushed off as explosions emanated from the forest, Ash peered back to see the shockwave knocking over parts of the forest and the pokemon flying away, fearful of the power that was being used against the member of the Shadow Lord, "come on Ash, we don't have all day, we need to help out Paul and N," Greed informed the young man.

Ash shot his eyes back at the former member of the Shadow Lords and glared at him, "N? He can't be alive, I thought he was killed off," Ash replied frantically.

"I saved him when the other members of my former team weren't watching," a calm Greed answered, he led his friends down the road ignoring the battle that was happening in the background, "don't worry, they will be fine, I told Dusk to help Hilda and Hilbert out," the former member of the enemy continued down the road.

Ash halted, thinking about the brunette and her comments, Salvia looked back with concern, tilting her head, "is there something wrong?"

Shaking his head, Ash remained quiet and walked ahead, 'is it true?' he questioned himself, "I am trying to save everyone and yet, when things don't go the way I hoped…" Ash whispered, he glanced back again, staring at the princess, she smiled at him, causing him to turn away, his heart pounding faster, 'what if I can't save my princess?' doubting himself, walking slowly.

"Are you alright?" Salvia placed her left hand on the shoulder of Ash.

"I have an uneasy feeling that is all," Ash replied sensitively, trying his best to hide his concerns from the young noble, Ash looked up to see the scared pokemon rushing away from the fight, "it is just that, I am concerned for Hilda," Ash whispered to himself, 'I never had a sibling before, let alone a sister,' Ash stared back into the distance

Meanwhile at the fight Hilda wiped away a trickle of blood from the corner of her mouth, "is that the best you've got?" she asked before spitting on the ground, she raised her right hand and focused a psychic aura around the enemy, smirking at the boss in a bloodthirsty manner, "because I am only getting warmed up," Hilda started lifting the much larger foe with her psychic abilities.

Dusk glared at the Unova based trainer and cracked her knuckles, "I don't want to miss out on this bastard's death," she hissed at the more powerful female.

"Wait your turn," Hilda snapped back as she burst out into laughter.

"Why should I? You said that five minutes ago!" Dusk argued with the brunette, watching her sending the powerful Shadow Lord crashing into the ground, "plus I can sense that you are barely controlling your power," Dusk growled as she watched one of the trees being picked up with ease, hovering in the air, 'great, if this continues, my mission will not be complete,' Dusk thought to herself as she jumped back to avoid being hit by the tree.

Hilbert stared in awe, his wife barely in control of her psychic powers, he grasped the bracelet, "my wife is putting it all on the line," Hilbert acknowledged, watching her picking up a powerful set of trees flinging them towards the powerful foe.

Sloth punched the trunks sending them back to Hilda who was shocked to have seen such a counter, Dusk used the remaining Aura abilities to snap the trees in half, "I won't let you hurt my friends!" Dusk yelled at the powerful foe, rushing towards him with her fist raised, glowing blue, "even without my full aura powers, I will still beat the crap out of you!"

Before Dusk could land her attack, a man with long green hair grabbed her wrist and prevented her from landing the next attack, "Hilda, Hilbert sorry for taking so long," the man apologized calmly.

"No it can't be," Hilbert started, in shock at the appearance of the man, "we thought you were dead," Hilda and Hilbert called out in shock.

"Greed told you nothing, I was secretly brought to Sinnoh last year, because he knew that when the time would arrive I would be able to help you out," N explained to his friend, he turned to Sloth who was getting angry at the man, "Sloth, I never wanted to see you again," N scowled at the powerful foe.

"What the hell man, I was about to kick his ass!" Dusk berated the Unova native.

N turned to the bluenette and shook his head, "he isn't even using his full power, sadly the only way to defeat him is if he is at full power, right now he is too slothful and is capable of countering," N explained to the three comrades.

Hilbert noticed the weights on the arms of Sloth, "they inhibit his power, meaning that if he takes them off, much like Hilda, he might lose control," Hilbert whispered to himself he glanced over to Hilda who was barely maintaining control over her powers, "what secret does this enemy have?" Hilbert continued to ask himself as he watched the foe slowly taking off the weights.

N remained calm and noticed the enemy laughing, he turned to Hilbert and grabbed his neck, "you will be the first one," Sloth sneered at the foe.

Before he could cause any damage, a powerful explosion pulsed out in every direction, before Sloth could react, he felt the burning sensation across his face, Hilda landed in front of her husband and glared at the large enemy, "don't you dare hurt my husband, lay another finger on him, I will shatter every bone in your body," Hilda passed down her threat.

"Too bad you won't be able to catch me," the large foe charged towards Hilda with his left arm extended out, sending the young woman flying towards the trees, he watched as Hilda used her psychic abilities to soften the landing, "little runt, how long can you keep this up?" Sloth asked Hilda as she landed on the ground, panting from the vicious attack.

"Die bastard!" Dusk yelled out as she performed another attack from behind, Sloth caught her leg and sent her flying towards Hilda who used her psychic powers to slow Dusk down enough to help her land gently on the ground, "we weren't having this much trouble before hand," Dusk complained about the situation they were getting in.

Hilbert was pushed back losing his grip on the bracelet, falling to the ground, Sloth noticed the item, and he picked it up and stared at it for a moment, "give it back!" Hilbert yelled out in fear.

"Give that back now!" Hilda repeated the demand, but with more venom.

N charged towards Sloth but was repelled by the enemy, Hilbert charged in for an attempt to get the bracelet, "Hilda needs that bracelet, without it she will lose control over her abilities!" Hilbert lunged for the bangle, the enemy grabbed his wrist and felt the grip tighten, Sloth punched him hard sending him flying, in that instant he watched Sloth crush the gold item before falling to the ground unconscious.

Sloth started laughing at the young man who was out cold from one attack, "poor weak little runt," Sloth taunted the young man.

Hilda got back to her feet, she looked up this time her eyes were glowing blue, seething with anger, her psychic powers becoming more wild and destructive, "you….you will suffer for that, your death will be slow, it will be painful…" Hilda announced her intentions to the enemy, "but most of all, I am going to enjoy making you suffer!" Hilda yelled out as her psychic powers whirled around, picking up trees in a large radius.

Dusk watched in amazement at the extent of the power that Hilda was showing, "oh Sloth now you've done it, you have pissed the queen of Unova off big time," Dusk cracked her knuckles as she charged up her aura, hitting the powerful foe with all her might she sent him flying into the growing vortex.

Hilda coldly stared at the Shadow Lord, "I am going to destroy you," Hilda's voiced her intentions, she opened her eyes revealing that it had changed from a blue glow to a purple glow, "I…will…..make…..you….suffer…." Hilda slowly stated maliciously grinning at her foe, as the psychic energy started to lose control, picking up logs and parts of trees that had broken up in the vortex.

"Dusk we need to get out of here now!" N yelled for the bluenette who was getting ready to continue the fight.

"Like hell I will leave, I want to enjoy watching the foe getting ripped apart," the sadistic bluenette confessed, she watched N picking up an unconscious Hilbert and running away from the battle.

"H-H…Hilda," Hilbert called for his wife in his unconscious state.

"It will be fine old friend," N whispered as he ran away from the dangerous situation.

"First after killing you two, I will focus my attention on the other two, then I will end the lives of the Aura master and the princess," Sloth explained his intentions to the two women.

Hilda's powers exploded again as she glared at the enemy, "lay a finger on my husband and my brother, there won't be enough of you for winds to scatter!" Hilda threatened the enemy before rushing in with a psychic blade forming from her left hand, she sliced down with the attack, then leapt back as the enemy made a counter attack, "lay a finger on my best friend, I will slice your hands clean off your arms!" Hilda used the psychic blade to charge in once again, "I will never forgive you!"

Meanwhile Ash looked back to see a large spiral forming from the forest, he gasped in horror at the sheer size of it, "what's going on?" Ash asked Greed.

"That would be your _sister_," Greed informed the young man.

Ash stepped back in shock, "is that the full extent of her abilities?"

Greed shook his head in concern, "no, that isn't even forty percent, I have seen her psychic powers at seventy percent," Greed watched the vortex growing, "from the looks of it, we better move, because soon the weather is going to change, she will be going one hundred percent," Greed informed Ash and Salvia of the danger of Hilda's power, 'something happened, it must be pretty for her to go this far in destroying Sloth, she is going to need all her psychic abilities,' Greed thought to himself as he turned away to keep going on.

"Hilda, please stay safe," Ash whispered with Salvia watching his concern.

"She will be fine Ash, I am certain she will get full control very soon," Salvia assured the raven haired man with a warm smile.

As the trio pressed on for the final battle, the skies grew darker, the wind picked up as bolts of lightning started to shower the area, "this is it, the full extent of Hilda's psychic power, I would hate to be her enemy now, but then again, I feel sorry for anyone who would be caught in her rage," Greed let out a sigh, concerned about the change that was happening around the group.

Ash turned away from the scene and headed towards the next destination, "no time to waste," Ash remarked trembling in fear from the power he was sensing, not wanting to think what would happen to the person he allowed to be his sister, he pushed forward not daring to glance back at the devastation that Hilda was unleashing on her enemy.

* * *

**With the battle against Sloth coming to an end, both combatants awaken their full potential, can Hilda finally manage to control her abilities? Or will it destroy her?**

**Next up chapter 34: When Shadows fall**

**AN. Please note, Hilda doesn't love Ash romantically, that would piss the readers off, she loves him as a friend, like a sister for that matter.**

**Please leave a review guys because we are heading to the end**


	34. When Shadows Fall

**Chapter 34: When Shadows fall.**

_**Summary: **__the final stages of the battle against the Shadow Lords has just began._

* * *

Hilda's cold stare remained focused on the Shadow Lord who was preparing to battle the young woman, "it doesn't matter what your power is, I will still snap you in half," Sloth decreed as he made the first charge in the final battle against the Unova native, raising his left fist in to the air, preparing to strike the female trainer as hard as he could.

Hilda leapt out of the way, then punched the powerful man, she landed next to the injured enemy, "you have to catch me first," Hilda replied coldly, she jumped back again, the Shadow Lord leapt up and dusted off his shoulders. The two opponents remained calm and started smirking, "Hilbert and N, stay out of this," Hilda ordered the two people emotionlessly, her serious expression remained fixed on the enemy.

"You know what happened in Twinleaf Town?" Sloth asked the young woman with a smirk.

"You bastards destroyed it," Hilda closed her eyes and started to get a greater picture of what happened, "you even murdered my brother's fiancé, family and his pokemon, for that I will make you suffer," Hilda promised the enemy with a grin, she ran up to the foe and punched him yet again this time sending him flying into the forest behind them.

Sloth picked himself up again, wiping away some of the blood away from his lip, he watched Hilda walking into the forest, twigs and leaves flying around her, "I see, so this is the full extent of your abilities," Sloth started laughing at the young woman.

"No, not even close," Hilda replied before leaping back to avoid a ball of aura coming from a distance away.

A girl with long blue hair emerged from the forest with a smirk running across her face, "the full extent of my abilities gone, but I am still able to fight," Dusk stated proudly, she peered up at the brunette who was less than pleased to see her, cracking her knuckles, laughing at the enemy, "I was busy doing something peacefully," Dusk started to power up what remained of her aura, "and you disturbed the peace I was enjoying, for that I am going to break every bone in your body."

Hilbert and N watched as the two girls prepared to make their attack on the Shadow Lord, keeping their distance knowing how dangerous Hilda would be without the bracelet, "so old friend, it seems like we have to deal with the fact that your wife is going to fight again," N reminded the king of Unova.

"N, I get the feeling not everything is going to go as she has planned, we need to create a plan in case that happens," Hilbert whispered, noticing how calm the Shadow Lord was, almost confident in his posture, "Sloth is too confident, he is hiding something."

"Are you sure?" N questioned the observation of his friend.

Hilda and Dusk rushed towards the enemy, the enemy waited and at the last minute evade the attack, causing the two girls to hit themselves without any chances of dodging, shocked at what he had witnessed, "Hilda watch out!" Hilbert called to his wife in disbelief.

Sloth grabbed Hilda's left leg and slammed her into the ground, but before hitting the ground she cushioned herself with her psychic abilities, "so you're fast ha, well it seems like my statement was proven wrong," she started to laugh at her foe, she raised her left hand up and unleashed another burst of psychic energy at the much larger foe.

Sloth was sent flying allowing Dusk to leap up and giving him an almighty kick that shot him into the ground, Dusk landed after the strike, clearing the blood from her arm, "that was your fault Hilda, no one has ever hit me that hard," Dusk complained as she glared at Sloth who was getting back to his feet again.

"You're the one getting involved in the fight!" Hilda angrily snapped back at the blue haired aura guardian.

Sloth charged towards the two females, they easily evaded the attacker, but were soon caught off guard by another pre-emptive attack on him, she ducked and tripped them up, he leapt up and prepared to launch another attack on the two females, but before he could land the killing attacks Hilbert and N saved the females from getting hit by the deadly foe.

Hilda looked up and smiled at her husband, "even with a certain degree of control, my fear is holding me back," Hilda admitted to Hilbert, staring at her bracelet, before Hilda could grab for the item, Hilbert was pushed to the ground, the bracelet falling from his hand by the force of Sloth's attack on him, he shattered the containment leaving Hilda stunned by what she had seen, "let my husband go now!" Hilda demanded the enemy, but was being ignored.

N picked up Dusk and started taking her to a safer location, "hey the fight is that way," she complained but N was too busy focusing on their safety.

"I am sorry, but when Hilda goes all out, the entire area geographically changes around her," N retorted with concern, he looked up at the sky to see the clouds building up, the winds picked up as the trees in the background began to fall out of the ground.

Ash glanced back seeing the storm rolling in, "oh man, is she willing to go all out?" Ash asked himself, feeling scared, witnessing lightning arching through the sky landing some distance away from the trio.

"We cannot wait, we need to make it to Arrowroot Town," Greed reminded Ash.

Ash ignored the calls of Greed, his eyes fixed on the effects of a battle that seemed to be raging on with him on the sidelines, Salvia approached Ash, slowly placing her hand on Ash's shoulder, "we need to go, my home town is still a couple of days away," Salvia pleaded with Ash, bringing him at ease.

"Right, no more time to waste, but…." Ash took one more look at the battlefield, the lightning cracking across the sky and the clouds continuing to build from outside the battlefield.

"We need to trust Hilda, she won't let anything bad happen," Salvia assured the young man.

Ash turned without looking back again, walking ahead but still showing concern for Hilda who was fighting the powerful foe, as well as the people who were in the area, "thanks Salvia"

At the battlefield, Hilda erupt with anger, using the lightning in the storm that she had created, targeting the enemy, a bolt of lightning darted towards Sloth, but he was quick to dodge the attack, another bolt of electricity crashed down but this time Hilbert was in the firing line, Hilbert looked up and managed to dodge it at the last second, but was still sent flying due to the force of the impact. Slowly getting up the king started panting and felt his arms tingle from the flow of electricity that barely missed him.

Hilbert watched Hilda in a blind rage, looking down at the ground he spotted the shattered bracelet, "oh no, Hilda has lost control," Hilbert fell to the ground, gathering the remaining shards of the bracelet.

Hilda catapulted herself towards the enemy, spearing him with all her power, Sloth used both his hands to form a hammer, hitting the brunette with all his might, Hilda fell to the ground, but was quick to get back to her feet, she cleared up all the dust on her vest and smirked at her enemy, "that better not be the best you have," Hilda remarked with a hint of bloodlust in her voice, she swiped a bit of blood coming from her mouth and licked it away.

Sloth stumbled back in fear of Hilda's rage, showing a hint of hesitation, "what the hell is going on?" the shadow lord asked.

"You started this bastard, now I am going to end it, by ripping you to shreds," Hilda growled at the terrified enemy, she raised her left, preparing to lower it in one quick move, "die, son of a bitch!"

The lightning came crashing down catching the massive enemy off guard, an explosion erupted, the light illuminated the area. The light vanished with Hilda and Hilbert standing side by side, the dust settled moments later, the sound of thunder shook the ground, like an earthquake they were soon surprised to see the enemy who had taken a direct hit still standing, "is that it?"

"I guess I have to go at one hundred per cent!" Hilda cracked her knuckles.

"No, we cannot do that, imagine the destruction!" Hilbert argued back in disdain at the suggestion that Hilda let slip.

"I don't care, as long as this bastard is turned to dust," Hilda smirked at her husband showing even more savagery directed now at Hilbert.

Hilbert stepped back, lost for words at the savage plan of Hilda, no matter the change that Hilda was displaying, before Hilda could make the final attack, Dusk caught Sloth from behind and struck him with a stiff kick to the back of the head, the large foe fell to the ground, "what are you doing here?" Hilbert enquired.

"I knocked N out and thought it would be fun to go for round two with this jackass," Dusk answered her friend, playful in her response she started to build on her aura, she turned her focus to Hilda who was preparing another savage attack on the Shadow Lord.

Hilbert choose to find another area to hide, feeling like it was unsafe to be around the girls, as he started walking off, he stopped to think about Hilda yet again, looking in hand at the shattered bracelet he turned around and walked back to the battlefield again, "I am not leaving," Hilbert informed his wife and friend.

"So you do have a spine good, I think it's about time we end this Shadow Lord," Dusk suggested with a calm barbarity in her voice.

"No….my…..fight," Hilda slowly stated coldly.

Hilbert stared at the brunette as she was charging up for a full power attack on the Shadow Lord, Dusk noticed the complete change and let out a sigh, "Hilbert, I will finish this battle, you stop your wife."

Hilda charged in, but was caught by Hilbert, he grabbed her and prevented her from moving forward, the blood curling screams of Hilda echoed in the area, at the same time Dusk viciously kicked the Shadow Lord dealing significant damage, the enemy fell down with blood flowing from his mouth. At the same time Hilda was yelling loudly and violently moving around, Hilbert continued to tighten his grip on the brunette, "Hilda, please stop, the fight is over!" Hilbert tried to bring Hilda back.

Sloth tried to get back up, but Dusk placed her boot on the back of his neck, "now you die," the blunette hissed at the injured foe, not giving Sloth a chance to say anything, she stomped on the back of his neck snapping it and killing the mighty foe. With Sloth now dead Dusk turned her focus on to Hilbert who was struggling to contain his rampant wife, she charged towards Hilda who had pushed Hilbert aside.

Dusk evaded an attack from Hilda and hit her on the back of the neck, knocking her out, Hilbert got up and tended to unconscious wife, "she will be fine, I just knocked her out," Dusk assured her friend, she looked down at the brunette and sighed, leaving the battlefield without saying another word, she glanced back at her friends and gently smiled at them.

"Wait Dusk," Hilbert called to his ally, "where are you going?" he asked the blunette still holding his wife in his arms.

Dusk stopped for a moment, turning her gaze to the distance, "me, I am doing the same thing I was doing before this fight, creating my own identity and forging my own destiny," Dusk responded proudly, she restarted her mission, halted once again and peered back, with a broad smile she turned her attention to Hilbert, "if any one of my friends distracts me from my mission, I will hurt them….. badly," she threatened her friends as she started laughing at a concerned Hilbert, leaving him to wonder what Dusk was going to do next.

**(The Arrowroot Harbor)**

Paul rushed around to avoid getting caught, keeping an eye on the royal guards who were guarding the ships which were being prepared for the new battle at sea, keeping calm, Paul started to assess the situation that he placed himself in, "so they are heading out to start a war ha?" he whispered to himself, quickly rushing back to his hiding place, 'I cannot believe how easy this,' the confidence grew in the Sinnoh native grew more upset with the Sinnoh Navy.

One of the sailors approached the commanding officer, saluting promptly, he stood at attention, "sir the final preparations are almost complete," the sailor informed his leader.

"Excellent, Pride will be pleased," the leader replied with a confident smile.

Listening in on the conversation, the lavender haired trainer stroked his chin and smirked, he peered around the corner once more to watch the men still talking about their mission, 'so, it seems like the Sinnoh Navy is being used as the next scapegoat for Pride.' Remaining calm Paul started to sneak away from his hiding place.

Another soldier approached the commander and saluted immediately, "sir, there seems to be someone in the area who shouldn't be here," the soldier quickly informed his commander, pointing at one of the containers.

Paul gritted his teeth in shock at being discovered, "no time for me to linger, but…" Paul growled, he started to run but his path was barred by the Sinnoh soldiers, "I thought you were all loyal to the Sinnoh Royal family," Paul expressed his disdain at the new enemy.

"The Royal family is no more, Pride told us the last in line is dead," the commander countered Paul's complaint glumly.

Paul burst out laughing, grabbed his pokeball and prepared to start a battle against the more numerous foe, "Pride lied to you," Paul notified the soldiers who started to mutter incoherently, trying to figure out who was telling the truth, "I met the princess almost a month ago," Paul continued to talk the soldiers around.

"Not possible, Pride said the princess was killed off by a man named Ash," the commander furiously snapped back at the Sinnoh born trainer.

Paul clenched his fist, angered by the allegation that was presented to him, he gritted his teeth and started shaking, he looked up and tossed out his pokeball, "Torterra standby for battle!" Paul yelled for his pokemon to appear for a battle, "what you just said was absolute crap, there is no way, my rival and friend would kill Princess Salvia!" Paul bellowed harshly.

"All men, call out your pokemon," the commander ordered his soldiers quickly.

"Like hell I will let that happen!" Paul responded, a smirk appeared while his pokemon prepared to start the battle against the navy, "Torterra, use Earthquake!" The experienced trainer commanded his pokemon to attack.

Glowing red the continent pokemon built up enough energy causing a massive shockwave to expand out, pillars of earth jolted out of the ground, blasting holes in a few of the ships and knocking the men of the Sinnoh Military to stumble.

Some distance away Ash and Salvia fell to the ground, feeling the power of the ground type attack, "seems like this Earthquake was unnatural," Greed steadied himself on one of the trees.

Salvia instinctively shot her gaze at the port, spotting the raised pillars of Earth, "someone attacked our military base," Salvia quickly informed the two allies. Getting to her feet, she rushed off to the port.

"Salvia, wait!" Ash demanded with a concerned tone, he lunged in an attempt to grab the blunette's wrist but soon fell to the ground as the ground shuddered again from another powerful attack, 'oh man, today is filled with bad luck, first Hilda decides to go all out and someone is dumb enough to attack the Sinnoh Port,' Ash grumbled to himself, struggling to get back to his feet.

Salvia waited for the sudden jolt to subside, determined to reach the port, "whoever is doing this is causing more trouble," the princess expressed her concern. Not knowing that she was being followed by Ash, she made to the top of the hill, witnessing part of the building exploding with Paul leaping back with his starting pokemon stepping back.

Ash made it Salvia's side and watched Paul battling a large number of pokemon with his Torterra, "that idiot! Bastard!" Ash furiously berated his former rival, he ran downhill to meet up with the lavender haired trainer, grabbing his pokeball ready to defend his friend.

Salvia staying behind watched Ash fondly, 'is he back to his normal self?' she started running, thinking about the way Ash use to act in the past.

**(Flashback)**

"So Lady Dawn, what is it you love about Ash?" Salvia asked her best friend quietly.

Dawn started blushing at the princess after she had asked her, "well, he is …um ahhh, kind and considerate, he encourages me to be the best coordinator I can be, we learn off each other, but…" Dawn ended her sentence showing off a cheeky grin.

"But what?" Salvia uttered her curiosity.

"He is just so reckless, he always puts himself second and whoever he cares about first, be they friend, rival or me, he isn't selfish and can be seriously confident to the point of over confidence," Dawn explained to her doppelganger. After hearing the explanation Salvia and Dawn started laughing at the expense of Ash. Dawn was the first to stop as she looked out to the fields that extended out to the main route, "but he also lights up my day when I find that it gets too dark for me, he makes me happy," Dawn confessed to the princess.

"I see," Salvia replied gently, she turned away to leave her best friend to look out towards the sunset.

**(Return from flashback)**

"Lady Dawn, I am going to help Ash as much as possible, I am going to stop pride and once this is all over, I am going to tell Ash how I feel," promised the young royal, confidently and yet remaining calm. She stopped for a moment and looked up at the sky, "Lady Dawn, I now know what you said is true, everything and I can tell you this with clarity, I too love Ash with all my heart," Salvia whispered, a broad smile ran across her face, she lowered her gaze and watched Ash enter the fray, calling out his Lucario for battle, "he has encouraged me to take the throne and be queen of Sinnoh."

"Lucario, attack now with Bone Rush!" Ash ordered his pokemon to quickly get involved in the battle.

"I had it under control," Paul smugly stated.

"You bastard! We were heading to the palace; you didn't need to attack this port!" Ash yelled at his former rival, "what were you trying to achieve?!" Angrily questioning his rival.

"Trying to stop Sinnoh from going to war, because of our enemy," Paul replied sharply, "Torterra, use Leaf Storm."

"Lucario, Aura Sphere," Ash ordered his pokemon as a follow up to his friend.

Lucario formed a bright sphere in his paws waiting for his trainer to give the signal to release the orb, "not yet Lucario, make it larger…" Ash calmly ordered his pokemon, "much larger." Lucario added more aura into the sphere, making it larger.

Greed watched the sphere growing larger as he watched his friend smirking at his enemies, "no way, he is going too far," Greed started to panic.

Salvia felt the aura radiating in front of her, "no Greed, he is doing what he needs to do, plus, his target isn't the men," Salvia assured her friend. Covering her face to protect her vision from her blue hair she stood with courage from the powerful wind exerting from the sphere.

Ash and Paul nodded at one another, realising that it was time to unleash their respective attacks, "now, unleash your might!" Ash and Paul signalled for the attacks to be released.

The large ball of aura was enveloped in a barrage of leaves, the attacks brushed passed the men who were in shock at what they were witnessing, the commander watched the attack barrelling towards the shits that were still docked in the harbor, "no!" He screamed out in horror. Soon he witnessed the force of the two attacks colliding into one of his ships, effortlessly creating a gaping hole before coming out the other end slamming into another ship destroying the main tower before the attacks dissipated, "it can't be, those two destroyed our best ships," the commander collapsed in shock.

An explosion rattled the area taking the rest of the ships in the dock, Salvia waltzed up to the commander and looked down at him, "we can rebuild," she informed the commander calmly, she looked back at Ash and tilted her head, smiling at him with pride in his job, "you overdid Ash."

Before Ash could respond Salvia was knocked to the ground by one of the soldiers, tying up her hands, "Salvia!" Ash called to the princess, with his guard down he was pushed to the ground by one of the royal guards, "let me go!" Ash yelled out, watching Salvia being taken away with nothing he could do. Ash started glowing blue burning the hands of the guard forcing him to let go of the Aura Master allowing him to run after the princess.

"Stay back Ash, there is something I need to do," Salvia instructed Ash, she was taken away, Ash stopped in shock at the scene he was forced to watch.

Greed and Paul approached Ash who was visibly shaken by the comments of the royal, "yo Ash, is everything alright?" Greed enquired, he looked around to spot Salvia, but discovered that she was nowhere in sight.

"No everything is not alright," Ash snapped back furiously.

"Get back to your feet, I will not be accepting any weakness from my rival," Paul coldly ordered Ash, he looked back in shock at the declaration of Paul, "that's right Ash, I decided what I wanted to do, proving that I am better than you as a trainer," Paul announced his intentions, he brushed passed Ash and started heading towards the palace with Ash in shock at the announcement.

**(Flashback)**

Salvia watched Ash talking to his friends, without noticing Greed approached the princess with a concerned expression, "why aren't you with your friends?" the former Shadow Lord enquired.

Taking a deep breath Salvia gulped as she started to shake in anger, "I haven't done anything in this conflict with Pride, just getting in the way," Salvia whispered her contempt, angry at the fact that she hadn't taken action against the Shadow Lords, "if I wasn't so weak, my father would still be alive."

"Not true, you were able to help Ash more than you think," Greed replied calmly, he turned to Ash, smirking at the Aura Master.

"Ash will not be able to enter the palace without any assistance from the inside," Salvia explained the problem that she and Ash would be facing, she knelt down, slowly placing her hand in the water of Lake Valor, "I am going to let my guard down, get taken to the palace," Salvia told Greed of her intentions, she glanced back at the group with her eyes firmly fixed on Ash.

"I see, so you intend to help Ash from within the palace to make it as quite as possible," Greed quickly pointed out the next step of the plan. He crossed his arms and stroked his chin, "hmmmm…by that time, I will not be able to help," Greed stated with displeasure.

"Please don't tell Ash, I don't want him to worry about me being captured," the Sinnoh Royal ordered Greed apprehensively.

Greed started laughing at the princess who was hiding her shame, "you love him don't you?"

In shock at the princess cupped her face, which had turned red in embarrassment, "w-w…what makes you think that?" She asked with hesitation, turning away to hide the blushing that crossed her face, her friend tried to catch a glimpse of the redness on Salvia's face, "I….. m-might, like Ash a little, but I ahhhh ummmm, I am not in love with him," Salvia tried to rationalise it, but was failing to sound convincing.

"Ah ha, right…. So why is your face red and why are you lying about it?" Greed picked up the stuttering of the royal.

"Just don't tell Ash how I am going to help him, I don't want him getting too concerned," Salvia tried her best to change the topic, but Greed started laughing at the princess, "what?!" she snapped at the Shadow Lord.

"You changed the topic slightly," Greed added to the dent in Salvia's armour, "you don't want Ash being concerned, because…"

"Alright I admit it!" Salvia stopped Greed mid-sentence, clenching her fists, "but I don't know how and when my feelings for Ash changed, but one day I was realising what my best friend was telling me was applying to me as well," Salvia explained in an out pouring of emotions, she wiped away her tears running down her face, "I couldn't make any excuses as to why it was the case."

"You don't need excuses," Greed walked away from the princess and pointed at his heart, "you just need to know what is happening here," Greed informed Salvia leaving her to ponder her next move, "oh and don't worry, Ash will not know anything yet," he promised the bluenette calmly.

Salvia placed her hand over her heart and felt it racing, "no excuses, I just need to tell him," Salvia whispered to herself, thinking about the absence of her best friend, "Lady Dawn how did you get the confidence to tell Ash how much you loved him?"

**(Return from flashback)**

Being pushed by a small number of guards Salvia took one last look back, preparing to enact her plan, 'Ash, I am sorry, but all will be made clear soon enough,' Salvia promised the trainer with a stern expression, 'Greed was right, so was Hilda,' Salvia thought to herself about how her friends were pushing her to tell Ash.

"Keep moving imposter!" the guard pushed Salvia forward, she didn't make a peep not wanting to over react to the demand.

Salvia walked along the road surrounded by the royal guards, 'to make sure that no one in the town panics, I will be allowing Ash in at night time, but I need to make sure that Ash…..' Salvia thought to herself, dropping something on the road, she looked up hoping that it wouldn't start raining, 'come on my love, time to save this kingdom together.'

* * *

**With Salvia being taken back to the palace to enact a small plan that could save both her kingdom and the world, the final showdown starts with the first round between Greed and Pride.**

**Next time chapter 35: Greed's last Stand**


	35. Greed's Last Stand

**Chapter 35: Greed's Last Stand**

* * *

Entering the small town Salvia cast an eye over the empty streets, the lifeless foliage and a bone chilling feel that surrounded her, 'what happened?' she asked herself sombrely, trying to come up with a logical reason to Arrowroot Town's state of disrepair. She was pushed further down the street approaching the palace, "hey don't push me, just let me inspect this town!" Salvia snapped at the guard, but her angry request was ignored.

"Pride will be back soon," one of the guards informed the young royal.

'I see, so he left them to escort me back, so that means the enemy is about to cause some trouble,' The princess glanced back towards the distance, 'Ash, I am sorry for making you worry,' Salvia apologized silently, looking down at the street a hint of regret washed over her. She slowly looked back once again and turned back as she walked further into the deserted town.

Meanwhile some distance from the town, Ash was still pondering what he was going to do, he was still visibly upset with Salvia being taken away, almost to the point that his aura started to exude out from his body as his anger started to develop once again.

Greed looked back at his friend and sighed quickly, "you need to calm down," Greed informed Ash, but it wasn't enough to prevent the force of Ash's aura from knocking him off his feet, "Ash! That is enough!" Greed yelled out his displeasure in Ash's lack of anger control.

"Why?! I didn't do enough to keep her safe!" Ash bellowed his frustrations before being knocked off his feet by a vicious punch from his rival. With his aura settled Ash looked up to find Paul shaking his hand, "Paul, what was that for?" he asked reeling from the hit by the Sinnoh native, cupping his face with a shocked expression.

"No more excuses Ash, I don't think Dawn would want to see you making excuses or beating yourself up because you think you didn't do enough," Paul explained as he turned away with a pained expression, he turned towards the town which seemed to have been decimated by the new leader of the SInnoh Kingdom, 'Pride, I have had enough of you, you killed one of my friends, drove my rival to the brink and now you want to start a war.'

"What should I do?" Ash questioned his two friends.

"Get off your ass and do something," Paul instructed his friend, extending his left hand out to Ash, "I am certain Salvia will not be going down without a fight and neither should you," Paul notified Ash of his thoughts.

"He is right, I am certain Salvia has a plan to help us defeat Pride," Greed stated without giving too much away.

Greed turned away and took a deep breath, 'she doesn't want me to tell Ash, that she intends to open up the gates from the inside, I could have done it, but she said that she wants to show Ash that she is no longer afraid to lead from the front,' Greed thought to himself, clenching his fists in frustration, he started walking ahead of his two allies.

Three hours later Ash, Greed and Paul entered the town, it was desolate and with snow still on the ground, some of the lights flickered but they didn't really, "what the hell happened here?" Ash enquired, gasping at the sight that had overcome them.

"The real question is," Greed scanned the area in disbelief.

"Where are the townsfolk?" Paul asked as the isolation had started to overcome the trio.

Ash entered one of the shops and called for someone, but there was no response, he walked further in and picked up a bag containing some food, 'they couldn't have vanished,' Ash thought to himself. Ash closed his eyes, and reopened them to show them glowing blue, he scanned the ground to find that there was a struggle, all leading out towards the street, "so that's how it is, the people were taken somewhere," Ash whispered, he knelt down and brushed his left hand against the remnants of the aura path.

Paul turned to Ash and noticed Ash concentrating, "is there something wrong?"

"Yeah, the people were taken somewhere," the raven haired man quickly noted, ending his aura vision.

"So it seems like Pride is either holding the citizens hostage," Greed hissed in displeasure.

"What's the matter Greed, you dislike my methods?" a male voice called out to his former comrade.

Greed turned to the leader of the Shadow Lords, glaring at him with his fists clenched he soon smiled, "well Pride it seems like we are the last two left," Greed informed his fellow survivor.

"Greed, what are you doing?" Ash asked in shock.

"Ash, you help Salvia bring an end to this," Greed implored Ash, peering over his left shoulder and nodded assuringly.

"Fine, I am going to search for the missing people," Paul replied, he ran off leaving Ash alone to head off to the palace.

"Ash, before you leave for the palace, I just want you to know…" Greed looked at the ground with a hint of shame in his voice, "about Dawn, I am sorry about what happened to her," Greed apologised to his friend.

Ash grinned at his ally and turned away, "I forgave you a while ago," he professed before running off leaving Greed on his own to face Pride. Ash started running away from the battle, not daring to look back, 'Salvia, please don't be reckless,' Ash begged the princess in his thoughts.

Greed stood his ground facing his former leader, the winds started to pick up with rumbles of thunder echoing in the surrounding area, "so Pride, who would have thought I would have survived long enough to face you?" the former member of the Shadow Lords questioned his enemy.

"Pure luck was exuding from you, but then again, I was kind of hoping that you lived long enough to allow me to be the last one standing," Pride replied complacently, laughing at Greed who was shaking his head, "don't agree?"

"Last one standing? You really are a moron Pride, there will be none of us left standing when this is all said and done, because if I fail to kill you…." Greed charged in swinging a powerful left jab at Pride, knocking him back before hitting the ground, "Ash will succeed where I might fail!" Greed kicked Pride across the ground as hard as he could possibly muster.

Pride stood up and brushed off the dirt on his shoulder, laughing at Greed, he spat at the ground and rushed at his foe, elbowing him before swinging his right fist upwards, forcing Greed to stagger from the blow, "I always hated you Greed, I knew you would defy us some day," Pride admitted coldly, he grabbed Greed's left arm and started punching him with multiple strikes, until Greed grasped the other fist with his right hand.

"I hope that is not the best you've got…." Greed stated as he started to headbutt the leader of the Shadow Lords, followed by a powerful knee to the sternum, "because if it is, then you're in for a world of hurt."

Gathering his breath Pride cleared up some of the blood gushing from the corner of his mouth, "seems like I underestimated you Greed," Pride hissed showing a hint of disdain towards the start of the fight.

It started to rain with flashes of lightning arching overhead, "I have confession to make Pride," Greed whispered, a smug grin washed over his face, "remember all those missions in the past? You know the ones that failed?"

"Yeah I remember those missions," Pride answered coldly, "what about them?" He asked with a hint of frustration.

Greed started laughing at his former comrade, "I was working as a double agent, whatever information you were spreading out to the other members of the Shadow Lords, I was feeding that information to your enemies, in fact I was the sole reason why all your missions failed, because I hated you all," Greed explained to his enemy, cracking his knuckles ready to make another attack on his former leader. "Lust, Envy, Gluttony, Sloth, Wrath and Pride, you meant nothing to me!"

"I already knew that," Pride remarked as he charged in for another attack against Greed. The two Shadow Lords charged at one another preparing to unleash another volley of punches.

Meanwhile at the palace, Salvia was pushed into her room, "they locked the door," she whispered to herself, remaining calm she slowly approached the window of her room, sliding her hand down the window she looked back at the door and let out a sigh, "I cannot make a scene at the moment, I need to get to the room that allows people into the palace," Salvia walked around her room, brushing her hand against the wall, she stopped in front of the picture of her family.

After stopping at the picture Salvia picked it up and stared at it for a moment, "mom, dad, just watch I will save this kingdom," she whispered gently, turning the picture around she peeled a piece of tape back revealing a golden key, 'yes, they didn't bother looking here,' she thought to herself, taking the key and rushing back to the door.

Picking up the key Salvia turned her attention to her chest of draws, with a determined expression the princess approached it and gulped, hesitant to open it, she pulled it open nervously and let her left hand hover over the clothes contained inside. Slowly peeling the clothes back, she stared at a silver bangle with a special jewel embedded on it, 'it's still here,' she thought to herself, picking it up and placing it on her left wrist, "time to end this stupidity."

After unlocking the door, she placed the key in her pocket and peered around the corner, making sure there were no guards in the hallway, "if I remember correctly, the control room is two levels above this floor, meaning that security will be pretty tight on those floors," Salvia whispered to herself, she quietly closed the doors and started making her way to the stairs, 'also there is an emergency stairwell that leads pretty close to the control room,' she thought to herself, tip toeing through the halls.

Passing the flight of stairs that led to her destination, stopping to hear one of the conversations by some of the guards having a conversation about the upcoming conflict, "tell a few of the guards that the person we captured is in the room, order them to make sure that she is still there," the guard commanded his inferior.

Salvia watched the guards turning away, she quickly crossed in front of the doorway and silently made her way to the last door of the hallway, she looked back to make sure the guards hadn't spotted her, "good, now time to get to the control room," she whispered, opening the emergency stairwell.

The princess started to ascend the flight of steps, grabbing one of the pokeballs "I need to prepare for a battle," she whispered shaking in anticipation.

Upon making it to the fourth floor Salvia opened the door and peered out, seeing a group of guards watching the hallway, 'great, they are keeping a close eye on the area.' The young royal closed the door quietly, "Gengar, I need your help," Salvia called out a purple pokemon, with a large grin running across his face, the pokemon turned to the princess confused at not seeing his real trainer, "I had to borrow you, Ash will be upset I know, but I need your help," Salvia pleaded with the ghost type pokemon.

Gengar nodded with respect, phasing through the wall the ghost type looked out to see the guards holding their ground, "Gengar can you put them to sleep with Hypnosis?" She asked the shadow pokemon, Gengar started laughing and phased through the door with Salvia waiting at the other side of the door.

Gengar emerged in the middle of the hallway, the guards watched in horror as a hypnotic wave enveloped the men, one by one the men collapsed, Gengar phased through the floor leaving the sleeping guards in their slumber.

The ghost pokemon emerged from the floor causing Salvia to jump in fear, "is the job done?" she asked Ash's pokemon. Genger pointed to the door to signify the situation. Salvia opened the door and peered out the stairwell, she spotted every guard had fallen asleep, she walked out and started to walk through without a noise, Ash's pokemon hovered overhead and moving towards the door.

The two reached the end of the hallway, with her hand on the door handle Salvia attempted to open the door, but nothing would happen, she looked back at the ghost type pokemon and signalled for it to phase through the door, "open the door please Gengar," Salvia requested calmly, she watched the ghost type pass through the door with Salvia waiting outside.

"You there," a call startled the princess.

She turned to face a couple of guards walking up to her, picking up another pokeball she tossed it towards the middle of the hallway, "Gardevoir, let's battle," she called out for her psychic type pokemon.

"Gallade, come forth for battle," the first guard called out his pokemon to battle.

"Lucario, it's time to battle," the second male guard called for his pokemon to face Salvia.

"Gengar, I need your help," Salvia called to the borrowed pokemon. The pokemon appeared and stood next to Salvia's pokemon, "will you take my orders for battle?" She enquired the formidable pokemon.

"Shadow Claw now, Gallade," one of the guards called for his pokemon to initiate the battle with Salvia. Gallade charged in with two blades protruding from his arms, with a purple glow surrounding the blades.

"Follow it up with Dark Pulse," the other guard followed through with another attack on one of Salvia's pokemon.

Salvia waited for the two attacks to come closer, she remained calm as the pokemon under her command waited with anticipation, "now dodge the attacks," she ordered the two pokemon, the two pokemon leapt up and easily evading the two attacks, "now counter with Psychic Gardevoir and Gengar attack now with Shadow Ball."

Gengar formed a blob of ghostly energy while the eyes of Gardevoir started glowing blue, the two opposing pokemon watched Salvia's pokemon charging up their attacks, "now hit them with all your power," Salvia ordered the two pokemon to unleash their devastating attacks on the foes.

"Use Protect," the two guards ordered in unison.

The two attacks were launched at the opposing pokemon, but made contact with a powerful barrier that prevented the two attacks from getting through, at this time the Shadow Ball was flung into the wall destroying it in an instant, parts of the palace started to shudder with a violent explosion which was caused by the impact of Gengar's Shadow Ball, "you destroyed part of this palace," one of the guards growled at the bluenette.

Shaking her head in disdain, the princess let out a quick sigh, "when I get my families thrown back, the first thing I will do is tell you to find another job, then I will have this kingdom rebuilt then I will change the world for the better where," the determined princess explained her intentions to the royal guards.

After hearing her intentions, the two guards stepped back in disbelief as their pokemon stood between the guards and the princess' pokemon, "Pride told us to stop people like you," the confused guards answered angrily.

"Pride? That filthy creature will soon be destroyed," Salvia retorted venomously, her stare scaring the two guards into stepping back further, "I will let you two in on a little secret."

W-w….what?" The guards stammered in disbelief.

Smirking confidently Salvia removed a small piece of cloth around her wrist, revealing a silver bangle, "I was holding back," Salvia answered as her left hand approached the jewel on the bangle.

"What is that thing?" The guards asked the princess, trying to comprehend about what she was trying to do.

"I know, you are trying intimidate us," The guard on the right replied,

Salvia pressed the button, a blast of energy surrounded Gardevoir, "intimidating?" She enquired with a broad smile, a sphere enveloped the psychic pokemon before quickly dispersing revealing the gown of the embrace pokemon had grown longer and wider, the red horns on her gest split into two and the spikes on her head grow out, "intimidation? You are going to wish that was all I was doing," Salvia hissed at her foes as even Gengar started to get a little scared of the princess.

"Gallade attack now with Shadow Claw." The Guard initiated the next stage of the battle against the determined princess.

"Lucario, attack with Metal Claw," the other combatant followed his superior.

The two pokemon charged at the mega evolved pokemon, but the two remained unfazed by the charge of the opposing pokemon, "Gardevoir, attack now with Dazzling Gleam," Salvia ordered her pokemon to unleash another attack. Salvia recalled Ash's Gengar from the battle to protect it from the ferocious attack.

The three combatants watched a blinding light push its way through the hallway knocking the two fighting type pokemon away from the princess, the explosive attack was so intense that the sleeping guards were pushed to opposite end of the hallway and destroying rooms along the way. The injured guards got back to their feet, rubbed their eyes and watched the princess turn towards the door, "there is no way she could be that strong," he remarked quietly and now experiencing a sense of fear pulsing though his body, he tried to move but was too petrified to take even one step.

"Gardevoir, open that door for me," Salvia ordered her pokemon to destroy the door. A blue light surrounded the door and it started to crack before being pushed off its hinges, "you lot stay there," she hissed at the two guards.

Ash rushed through the empty streets, looking for a way to enter the palace, he stopped to take a breath and started to think about Salvia, he unfolded a piece of paper that was in his pocket, stared at it and then grew more concerned about the choice of actions from the princess, "Salvia, you thought that you weren't any help, but you're wrong," Ash whispered softly.

**(Flashback 3 months earlier)**

"Hey Ash, look at this place!" Salvia called out to Ash, pointing at a town filled with flowers, but Ash had remained emotionless as he looked out at the small town, "Floraroma Town is way more beautiful than what my mother and father said it was," the bluenette cheerfully complimented the town.

"How can you be so positive after what has happened?" The raven haired trainer asked the princess.

Salvia turned to Ash and walked up to him, a smile crossing her face, Ash stepped back in shock, feeling Salvia's finger press on his lips, "because no matter how sad I get, I know there are people around me that can help me see through the darkness," Salvia answered fondly, surprising Ash at the same time, she looked up at the sky, "no matter how much it hurts, you cannot beat yourself up for what happened, it was outside your control."

"Even your parents?" Ash questioned the princess sombrely.

Salvia nodded in agreement, "yes, after what happened, I realised that I not only needed to get stronger, but also keep moving forward, without determination to go forward, you truly cannot keep going without doubting yourself," Salvia started walking away from Ash, entering the town.

"You're amazing, you know that?" Ash informed the princess.

Salvia halted and started to cry a little, her face completely red from Ash's compliment, she turned to Ash again and stood in front of him, "no I am not as strong as other people think," she replied raising her left hand up to Ash's face, "I merely put on a strong front to keep people assured that everything will be fine," Salvia gazed into Ash's eyes and smiled, not even realising that the distance had closed between them.

Quickly comprehending what had happened Ash and Salvia stepped back again, Salvia was visibly flustered by the turn of events, she quickly ran into town leaving a perplexed Ash to stare at the blue haired royal. Ash felt his heart racing and still confused about what was happening, "what in the hell just happened?"

Ash continued to watch Salvia running into the town, but now everything was blanked out even the buildings and the flowers, "what's going on? There is no way," Ash questioned his thoughts he fell to the ground in shock, placing his hand where Salvia placed her hand.

**(Away from flashback)**

"I didn't know at the time, but eventually, your presence was what kept me from spiralling into a void," Ash whispered to himself about Salvia, he started walking towards the palace entrance. He looked up and spotted the smoke rising from a building, "Salvia!" Ash grew more concerned, running towards the palace without fear on his face, "hold on my princess, I will be there to help you out!" Ash yelled out, running faster, 'now I understand what you meant, I was beating myself up, but now, I finally have a light that I can reach out to, because now I know without a doubt….'

"Salvia, when this is all over, I will tell you what my heart is telling me," Ash's determination oozed out and ready to face the future again, "I refuse to look back at what could have been, now I will go to what will be!" Ash declared, he stopped at the gates of the palace and awaited the princess to let him in.

Meanwhile Greed and Pride were panting from the intense fight, "you know something Pride? I think you also know that this was going to be the first and last fight between us," Greed chuckled as he started grasping his side from the injury that he had sustained from the leader of the Shadow Lords, "I think it's time for me to make a slight confession," Greed informed his former leader.

"What was that?" Pride asked tiredly.

"I was nothing but a decoy, while I kept you busy…" Greed struggled to pass the information on.

"You were keeping me busy? Why?" Pride enquired in shock.

Greed started laughing but was soon tackled to the ground by Pride who grabbed him by the through, "now, now, how am I to tell you?" Greed felt Pride's grip loosen, "that a boy," Greed continued to taunt his former leader.

"Enough of the insults you bastard," Pride prepared to unleash the final blow on Greed.

"You see, Salvia was going into the palace to liberate it from the inside, the Aura Master, well Salvia is going to open the gates from the inside to allow Ash to enter the palace." Greed explained the plan to Pride who grew angry at the strategy that the princess had concocted, Greed felt a barrage of punches but started laughing at Pride, "you coming out of the palace was one massive bonus," Greed fought through the pain barrier to tell Pride of his foolishness.

"You dare make me look like a fool!" Pride picked up the injured Shadow Lord, "who do you think you are?!" Prides anger started to reach its zenith.

"I am your enemy Greed," Greed introduced himself to Pride, spitting in Prides face.

In a blind rage at the insult that Greed had given him, he started punching the now incapable Greed without a single hint of stopping, "die!"

Greed felt the punches breaking some of his bones and eventually he fell to the ground, blood coming from his mouth he slowly stood up, faintly laughing at his enemy, "I will see you in hell," Greed whispered before falling to the ground with a smile on his face, fading away from the final attack, but still with a smile on his face.

* * *

_**With Greed's fall in battle, we are now headed to the final conflict.**_

_**Next up chapter 36: Pride Fall**_


	36. Pride Fall

**Chapter 36: Pride Fall.**

**The second to last chapter of this story it was meant to go to 38, but decided against it.**

* * *

Salvia entered the room, it didn't seem empty, but she wasn't going to take too many chances, she looked around the corner to discover that one of the guards were coming back from their breaks, "you, what are you doing here?" the guard asked the bluenette. As he was approaching the princess he was frozen in place by a shadowy blob, "what happened?"

Salvia walked up to the console and started to hum, "oh that is my love's pokemon, he doesn't want any harm to come to me," Salvia answered, she peered back with a cheeky grin. With fear etched in his face, it was impossible to move, the guard looked down to see two massive red eyes staring at him, he felt the heat being drained from his body, "Gengar, let him go," Salvia ordered the ghostly pokemon.

Salvia approached the guard, she stared down at the guard, "now tell me, what button do I press to allow for my knight to come in?" Salvia demanded for an answer.

The guard struggled to get back to his feet, but he felt that the energy that was sapped seemed to have still be missing, "I am not betraying my king," the guard replied tiredly.

"I am the previous king's daughter," Salvia quickly snapped back, she turned to the console again. Salvia started to press some buttons, this action brought the alarms into action which caught the attention of the rest of the guards, "no, well how about I lock down every room in the palace so the other guards cannot get between Ash and our objective?" Salvia enquired as the guards on the screen started to panic.

"Stop," the security member raised his hand to reach out for the princess, Gengar got between Salvia and the guard, laughing at the man. The air around the security guard got even colder causing the guard to shiver until he was unconscious.

"Just like Ash, you overdid it," Salvia commented as she pressed the last button in sight.

Meanwhile, outside the palace gates, Ash ran up to the gates, his fists clenched and only one thing on his mind, his face seemed determined to get to Salvia as soon as he could, he watched in surprise as the gates seem to spring open, "what happened?" Ash asked with surprise, his started to chuckle at the surprising occurrence.

Picking up one of the pokeballs, he called out a blue and black fox like pokemon to prepare for battle, but before he got closer to the door he was surrounded by guards, they didn't appreciate his intrusion on palace grounds. Their presence didn't faze Ash, "you're in my way."

Ash started to glow blue, surrounded by a powerful aura that began to flare out, the guards stepped back in surprise, they couldn't understand what was happening, it defied their view of logic, "who are you?" the guards started to questioned the Aura Master.

"My name is Ash Ketchum," Ash introduced himself to the guards, but his focus remained on the door behind a group of guards, "I don't want to hurt you guys, just let me pass so I can get to Princess Salvia," Ash remarked in a cocky tone. Taking his first step in the battle a smile ran across his face.

"Why is he happy?" A commotion between the guards arose, they noticed the confidence in the raven haired man continued to rise.

Ash charged in and hit a few of the guards with lightning fast attacks, "because, I have chosen where I want to be!" Ash yelled out, loud enough for everyone in the palace to hear.

Salvia examined the area while Gengar prepared his ambush, Salvia pulled out the pokeball and threw it to the ground, "Gengar, you can go back to Ash now, I will make sure the rest of the Sinnoh Navy returns to the base," Salvia told the ghostly pokemon. She witnessed the powerful pokemon grabbing the pokeball then hovered out the open window.

Salvia exited the room and rushed down the hallway, 'there is only one part of the palace that can let me contact the military,' she thought to herself, before making it to the staircase a powerful explosion ripped through the building, rattling the building with such force, the princess lost her balance spraining her ankle at the same time. Salvia grasped her ankle in pain, her face winced as she tried to get back up, she fell to the ground with the pain shooting up her body.

"There she is, the prisoner!" a guard pointed towards the young royal. They stopped and called out two more fighting type pokemon, "surrender now,"

Salvia balanced herself on the wall and glared at the guards, a smile ran across her face, the bluenette held out a pokeball ready to face the foes in battle, "I am here to make sure Sinnoh isn't dragged into a war, Unova helped save this region, now it is my turn to return the favour," Salvia allowed her pokemon to re-enter the battle against the royal guards, "it won't be only Gardevoir, but also Togekiss!"

Salvia noticed the hesitation in the actions of the guards, feeling like something was wrong, she nodded at her two pokemon to signify for an attack on the opposing pokemon, 'something is amiss here,' the princess thought to herself, trying to figure out why the guards were betraying the last remaining royal family member of Sinnoh. "How about telling me where the people of the town are?" she suggested sternly.

Caught off guard by the suggestion, watching the princess limping towards them with a determined expression and hiding the pain that she was in, "we don't know," the guards retorted in fear.

"Oh, I think you do know, it's just that you are afraid of what might happen if you divulge the secret of the missing people," Salvia immediately saw through the hesitation of the guards, the royal noticed the shocked expression of the guards and shook her head, "I already know what has happened, Pride…" Salvia started the explanation but was soon interrupted by a sudden shaking of the building, she lost her balance and fell towards the wall.

The guards tried to maintain their balance but to little avail, the violent shaking brought the guards to their knees, "what happened?" They both asked in astonishment, trying to figure out where the violent shaking had originated from.

Salvia chuckled as the palace started to crumble around her, "it seems like Ash is over doing it," the princess picked herself up, reminding the royal guards what was really happening outside, she turned to her pokemon and nodded confidently, "push them back with Psychic," Salvia ordered her powerful Gardevoir, recommencing the battle before it was interrupted by Ash's rampage outside the palace.

A dominating wave of energy expelled outwards from Gardevoir, the shockwave pushed the walls of the hallway outwards as the opposing pokemon remained in the path of Salvia's attack, "no, use Protect," one of the guards commanded his fighting type pokemon.

Before the two enemy pokemon could form the barrier, they were slammed against the wall with incredible force, before the combatants could demand for another attack parts of the palace crumbled and the princess was forced to evade the falling rubble, knocking herself out in the process after hitting the wall just feet away after landing on her injured foot.

**(Salvia's subconscious)**

"You're getting as reckless as he is," a familiar voice echoed in the mind of the princess.

Salvia looked around until she eventually discovered a person that looked exactly like her, "am I?"

The blue haired female shook her head and smiled, "nope, just knocked out," the bluenette replied to the unfinished question.

"Where am I?" Salvia asked in confusion, looking up to see someone's hand reaching down towards her, she looked up again, this time seeing the familiar face, "L-lady Dawn?"

"Took your time," Dawn replied with a playful smirk. Dawn helped up her friend and stepped back slightly, "so where were you heading?" she asked her friend calmly.

"To the communications room to stop the rest of the Sinnoh Navy from starting all-out war," Salvia explained her intentions to Dawn. Her best friend shook her head as if to say it was an impossible task, "what is it?"

Dawn took a deep breath and showed a saddened expression, "I am afraid Ash is not the type to hold back," Dawn responded with a hint of pride.

"Oh I see, so he is being reckless," Salvia whispered to herself with contempt in Ash's actions, "he destroyed part of the palace, didn't he?" Salvia enquired, this prompted Dawn's spirit to nod.

"No need to worry, you can rebuild this palace right?" Dawn asked her best friend with an air of confidence, she started to fade away as Salvia started to wake up, "please make sure Ash doesn't dwell in the past, I don't want him beating himself up," Dawn made her request.

Salvia unsure of what her best friend was saying tilted her head, "does that mean you want me to…"

Dawn's face lit up as a large smile stretched out, "stay by his side and promise to love him for the rest of his life," Dawn finished her friend's sentence. Upon hearing the completion of the sentence Salvia's face started to heat up, a rather obvious blush appeared catching Dawn's attention, she giggled at her friend's obvious feelings for Ash, "I knew it," Dawn remarked with a teasing tone, she turned away to leave her friend to ponder about their meeting, "oh and before I go, you might want to find another way."

"Another way?" Salvia sounded puzzled by the finishing comment of her best friend, she witnesses her vanishing as she pondered the meaning of Dawn's comment.

after waking up Salvia sat up and spotted her concerned pokemon, they were helping her up, she looked around to see parts of the palace had fallen away. Salvia limped towards the edge of the remains of the palace, looking down to discover Ash being surrounded by what remained of the guards, him fighting to keep the region safe, she looked further down the path to find Pride was almost at the fight, she could barely make the smirk running across his face, but she had something else on her mind.

"Ash! I need to go somewhere!" Salvia called out.

With his attention directed at the princess he grabbed a pokeball and called out a large bird like pokemon, "Staraptor, give the princess all the help she needs!"

Upon calling the predator pokemon he flew up towards the princess. Salvia recalled her pokemon and waited for Ash's pokemon to be close enough, she looked back at the guards who were unconscious and defenceless, she stared at her pokeball and called out her Gardevoir, "teleport them to safety, all the guards," Salvia issued her command. The young royal braved the pain and leapt onto the mighty pokemon, flying away from the battle that was taking place.

"Flying away are we?" Pride asked with a malicious grin, he prepared to give chase but his path was quickly barred by Ash, "so you want to be the first to fall Aura Master?"

"You won't be hurting my princess," Ash confidently reminded the final enemy. He rushed in with his right fist raised.

Pride stood ready and calm, but before he could raise his own defences he felt a bone shattering punch slamming into his face, the heat of the aura burning parts of his skin, falling back and clutching his face the last remaining shadow lord glared at the Aura Master in anger, "how dare you!" Pride barked out furiously.

"I am going to shatter your pride," Ash declared, running towards the enemy, preparing to unleash another powerful punch.

Pride was quick to defend himself, but his cloak was burned away by the mass of aura that surrounded Ash, the skin of pride turned red from the vortex that was being created by the aura, Pride fell to the ground in pain, but before he could get back to his feet a forceful impact was pushed into the shadow lord's chest, he was sent rolling and reeling from the agony which felt much worse than it was when he fought Greed.

"Get back up, I am going to tear your pride to shreds, I want to enjoy this," Ash waited for Pride to get back to his feet. The instant Pride got back up he was trying to regain his balance from the debilitating attacks from the young Aura Master, he attacked once again without letting Pride have the chance to counter his vicious assault.

The guards watched in horror as their leader was rendered helpless by Ash's fury, "you fools destroy this guy!" Pride coughed out his commands as blood started to trickle down his arms.

"Do if you dare, I know you all don't want to, this bastard held everyone in town hostage, my rival will be saving those people soon," Ash declared with his focus still glued on the enemy, Ash rushed in again, this time kneeing Pride in the stomach, Ash clutched his hands together and slammed Pride as hard as he could, Ash leapt back after Pride swung at him with a knife that seemed to be hidden in his belt.

"How do you like it?" Pride enquired with a smug tone.

Ash grabbed his left arm as blood started to trickle down his arm, 'I was lucky I leapt back in time,' Ash breathed a sigh of relief, his attention was soon returning to Pride who was holding the razor sharp object in front of him, "coward, you knew you were being out matched and you are this desperate to bring a weapon into the fight," Ash growled at the powerful foe, he released his arm and prepared to continue the fight against him, he was soon surrounded by a blue aura as the guards watched on in fear.

"Who is this monster?" the guards asked in unison, their fear becoming more apparent.

"Fools, kill him already!" Pride yelled out his command in desperation.

"Don't throw away the lives of your men in a fight you started!" Ash berated the desperate enemy, he charged in again, he evaded Prides knife and grabbed the arm holding the blade, he looked up at Pride and smirked at him, "I hope you enjoy the pain," Ash whispered in Prides ear, he smashed the arm with a vicious chop.

"Ahhhhhhhh! my arm! you broke my arm!" Pride screamed out, a sharp pain shot through his body at the same time his weapon hit the ground.

"Your arm won't be the only this that becomes broken, I intend to break everything," Ash declared kicking Pride hard, seeing his teeth flying with the shadow lord still writhing in pain, Ash started to laugh as he was enjoying the punishing attacks on his enemy.

'Ash stop this!' A female voice echoed in his mind.

Stunned Ash looked around to find out where the voice came from, it sounded familiar but he showed confusion as the voice originated from nowhere, "who is this?" Ash whispered to himself.

'I knew you were hurting, but this is just sadistic, not like the person I loved,' the voice soon became apparent to Ash, reminding him that the way he was attacking Pride and his attitude towards the fight was not called for.

Ash closed his eyes and spotted Dawn standing there in the middle of a bright light, "D-Dawn, what are you doing here?" Ash enquired.

"I am disappointed in you Ash," Dawn confessed her disdain towards the young man's attitude, "first you beat yourself up, then you pick yourself up then fall back down, then you do this," Dawn informed Ash with tears rolling down her face, "that's totally out of character for you, you're better than this, revenge will not bring me back!" Dawn reminded the trainer as she walked up to Ash, raising her left hand slapping him as hard as possible.

Ash placed covered the point where he was slapped by Dawn's spirit, "why did you do that? What was that for?" Ash tried to figure out why the spirit of the person he loved had hit him.

"To bring some sense into you," Dawn snapped at the trainer, her eyes showing a sense of anger which was directed at the trainer, "I want you to go forward, don't make yourself out to be a monster," Dawn demanded she vanished leaving Ash to ponder his own fate. Waking up Ash was quick to see Pride charging with his knife in his right hand, he lowered his aura and elbowed Pride in the stomach.

"You little shit," Pride fell back, Ash stood up but was quick to leap back as Pride slashed at him, but was stopped in mid-air by some mysterious force, "what happened?" Pride felt the knife slipping from his grip, it hit the ground in front of Ash, as if to say it was his chance to end this conflict.

'Now Ash, there is no saving this monster,' Dawn reinforced Ash to attack.

Ash looked at the knife and hesitated, "I am not as strong as people think I am," Ash lamented his weakness to himself.

'That's fine Ash, I love you for who you are, not based on your strength,' Dawn informed Ash, she watched Ash charge in with the knife, plunging it into his chest, the Shadow Lord coughed out a load of blood as he fell to the ground, 'you did it,' the spirit watched the Shadow Lord dying in front of her.

Ash noticed the body of Pride vanishing, he fell back and looked up at the sky, a smile running across his face as he closed his eyes, he was soon met by Dawn in his mind, 'so Ash, when are you going to tell her?' she enquired gently.

"Why?" Ash asked softly, he raised his right hand to cusp Dawn's face, but it just phased through.

Dawn sat next to Ash and smiled, "you know something Ash, I don't regret saving you," Dawn reminded Ash of her sacrifice to save him.

"Why is that?" Ash questioned the spirit of the blunette.

Dawn looked down at Ash and smiled at him, she started fading from his subconscious, "I will love you always," Dawn replied, leaning down to come face to face with Ash. Dawn's spirit closed the distance with her hand caressing his face, "I don't want you living on something that was taken away from us," she informed Ash as the light in Ash's eyes started to brighten up, "live your life, share it with someone, don't close yourself off to the possibility of having someone you can love," Dawn continued to give Ash the confidence he needed to press on with his life.

"Dawn, I am sorry for everything, I should have been better, no more, I promise you Dawn I will live my life to the fullest, no more regrets," Ash apologized to his vanishing love, making a new promise to her. Before disappearing, Dawn leaned down further having her lips come in contact with Ash, 'Dawn this is goodbye,' Ash thought to himself with tears rolling down his face.

Dawn vanished for the last time, "don't be in such a hurry my love," Dawn's voice echoed filling Ash with more confidence.

Ash's eyes shot open, he felt a heavy weight lift off from him, he moved his right hand over his mouth, still thinking about Dawn's final kiss goodbye, "goodbye Dawn, and don't worry, I will not be in a hurry," Ash jumped up and started running to where Salvia was heading.

Meanwhile at the communication tower an exhausted Salvia was struggling to get to the radio, 'I will not give up,' Salvia thought to herself, she was panting her injuries were taking its toll on her, but she still braved on and eventually making it to the communication device, "this…..is Princess Salvia calling all ships!" Salvia called out to the navy that was out at sea.

"Princess Salvia, we thought you were dead," the commander replied.

Salvia cleared up the blood from her lip, "all ships are to turn back," Salvia ordered the naval commander.

"We are almost ready to attack," the commander replied, arguing with the young royal.

Salvia hit the desk with all her remaining strength, "that is an order, all forces are to turn back! This conflict is over!" Salvia yelled out in anger, trying her best to hold back the full extent of her anger, she tightened her grip on the radio, but was still getting tired, "please, by my right of succession, I order all ships to turn back, Unova is our ally, we are not to attack them," Salvia pleaded with the commander.

"Very well I will give the order for a full retreat," The commander agreed finally with the princess.

Salvia collapsed from the exhaustion, a smile on her face, 'finally it's over,' she thought to herself as she was succumbing to the exhaustion of the battle at the palace.

After about an hour Ash had arrived with the help of Staraptor, he entered the communication room, spotting the princess resting on the desk, "Salvia you did well," Ash approached her, an air of serenity filled the air, he kneeled down next to her and picked up the sleeping princess, carrying her out of the room.

"I did it, I stopped the remaining ships," Salvia started sleep talking.

Ash looked down and smiled at the royal, her face twitched as a blast of cool air blew passed the duo, 'man, she is so damn cute like this,' Ash thought to himself as he carried the young royal away from the base.

"Ash, please don't go anywhere, stay with me," Salvia's sleep talking continued much to the amazement of the young man carrying her.

"Sleep talking ha?" Ash started to chuckle at the princess who was just starting to confess even in her sleep, 'not even Dawn was sleep talking when she was around,' Ash thought to himself as Salvia continued to mutter random things in her sleep, such as her hunger and thirst, even going as far as commanding her pokemon in a contest battle and even mentioning Dawn. Ash was snickering knowing that he had something to embarrass Salvia with, 'oh the rest of our lives are going to be fun Salvia, I think I will get my chance to make fun of you about this,' Ash thought to himself with a cheeky grin.

**(3 Days later)**

Ash entered the room, Salvia was spending time in the room without anyone disturbing her, "oh Ash, it's great to see you, how have things been the last few days?" Salvia asked the aura master.

"So you're a sleep talker?" Ash chuckled at the princess.

Going red faced at the mere mention of sleep talking, Salvia turned away from the raven haired trainer, "I don't sleep talk," Salvia vehemently denied the claim.

"What's the matter?" Ash asked as he approached the bed, "I think it's kind of cute," Ash teased the princess, flicking her head with a hint of affection.

"Stop teasing me!" Salvia demanded, but even that demand fell on deaf ears.

"Oh look the sleep talker is awake at last," another female voice rang in the room, "Ash was talking about how you were sleep talking all the way to the hospital," Hilda started joking with her best friend, commenting on her adopted brother's conversations with her.

"Ash! That's not fair!" Salvia yelled at the trainer.

"Enough of the sleep talking non-sense, there are more important things to discuss, like…." Paul entered the room after listening to the discussion, "did I beat Ash in a battle in your sleep talking?" Paul asked the princess in hopes that he would get a favourable reply.

"In your dreams Paul, there is no way you can beat me in battle," Ash snarled at his friend, before Salvia could get a word in.

"Who's the one the dreaming now? I challenge you to face me at the Kalos League," Paul threw down the gauntlet for the new challenge against Ash.

"You're on," Ash answered the challenge.

"Hey guys can I please have some time alone, I need to rest still," Salvia requested her friends to leave, the group was just leaving, Ash made it to the door, "Ash can you stay for a moment, there is something I need to tell you," Salvia gulped nervously as she grasped the sheets, feeling her heart racing for a moment, "I am glad the real you has finally surfaced, I was afraid he was gone forever," Salvia professed her delight at the return of the genuine Ash's personality making a return, "I guess Dawn had something to do with it, didn't she?"

"Yeah, but we parted ways, I am going forward with my life, no point in looking backwards ever again," Ash explained his and Dawn's final farewell, "it was like a giant weight being lifted off of me," Ash stated calmly.

Salvia lowered her gaze at the blankets and started to weep feeling like Ash might still love Dawn, "that's great to hear."

"No matter how much I want to think about it, it will not bring back my family, going forward is my only choice," Ash informed the royal, she looked up at Ash and nodded in agreement, "and um….I would…..ahhhhh, ummmmmmm…..I would like it if you were there, because I-I….." Ash tried to say something, now his confidence was completely gone, even looking at the face of Salvia who was wondering what he was going to say.

Salvia slowly got out of the bed and immediately fell on Ash, her arms wrapped around the young man, catching him off guard, "I love you Ash," Salvia confessed to the young man.

Ash returned the hug, a smile crept across his face, "I love you too," Ash returned the confession, not realising that there were people watching from the doorway.

"Oh isn't that cute, my brother finally confesses his love to a princess," Hilda started to tease the Kanto native.

"You guys couldn't help it," Ash growled at his friends, but he didn't seem to be at all concerned, he was able to hold the princess in his arms without being worried about anything going wrong, "Salvia, I promise I will not be in a rush, I want to make you happy," Ash helped the princess back into her bed.

Salvia looked up at the trainer and smiled, she turned to the window and looked out, 'thank you Dawn, you helped Ash out again,' she silently thanked her best friend before falling asleep.

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**Next up the final epilogue chapter, hope you guys like it, since I have some big plans for the year, if I don't become a busy person that is, which has been happening a lot as of late.**

**Next up the epilogue chapter.**

**I have also got some other chapters of other stories done as well, but since I have been a little busy I haven't had much chances to work on them.**


	37. After My Darkest Hours

**Chapter 37: After My Darkest Hours.**

**The final chapter of this story, it will be an epilogue chapter set two years after the story.**

* * *

It had been two years since the final defeat of the Shadow Lords, Ash had been traveling on his own, with Salvia staying at the palace. He was walking through the streets of Arrowroot Town, noticing how different things were since the last time he was in the town when he had the final confrontation with the leader of the Shadow Lords, "wow things are different, it looks much livelier," Ash complimented the appearance of the town.

With Ash walking through the streets of the town, he looked up to see a brunette standing in his way, her arms crossed, "so big brother, you finally showed your face in this town," Hilda greeted her adopted brother with a smirk.

"Hey Hilda," Ash waved at the woman with joy. He quickly noticed the displeased expression of Hilda and started scratching his head, "so how have things been little sis?" Ash tried to defuse the situation that he was in.

"Things have been good, but Salvia has missed you," the Unova native replied to Ash's enquiry.

Ash looked at his friend and was shocked to see a rather obvious bulge, "so you put on a bit of weight?"

Anger by the comment Hilda clenched her fists, "I am pregnant you idiot!" She snapped at the trainer.

"Sorry, I just thought you were having one too many late night snacks," Ash responded to Hilda's angry reply, "so who's the father? N?" Ash started teasing the brunette.

"I hate you," Hilda looked away, but she also knew that Ash was having a joke with her, "Hilbert is obviously the father, but I am still a few months away from giving birth," Hilda explained to Ash. The young man walked up to her and hugged her, "I missed you bro," Hilda confessed with tears rolling down her face.

"I missed you as well, I am also sorry for being away for that long, but I did write some letters to Salvia," Ash apologised to his adopted sister, the two walked through the town together as they were making their way to the palace, the looked around to find more improvements on the town being made. It was livelier and more people seem to be around.

"Salvia has worked very hard to bring this town back from the brink and now it is a major attraction for people to visit," Hilda explained the work of the princess. Glancing out the corner of her eye Hilda noticed a proud smile stretching across Ash's face, "so what have you been doing this last year?"

"Looking around, trying to rebuild myself as a person," Ash answered the brunette's question. The two friends stopped at the gates of the palace, Ash stared at the palace and was amazed at the reconstruction of the major building, "wow, when I last saw the palace, it was still a mess," Ash commented on the status of the buildings reconstruction.

"Yeah a mess you made," Hilda reminded Ash of the last fight against the Shadow Lords.

As the two were conversing about the reconstruction of the town a woman with long blue hair, wearing a pink dress emerged from the palace, she seemed displeased with Ash, "seeya later big brother," Hilda left Ash almost in a hurry.

"Hey get back here!" Ash yelled out, but the demand it fell on deaf ears and Hilda was gone, leaving Ash to fend for himself to face the fury of the royal coming his way.

"So, you finally come back after a year," Salvia clenched her fists in anger, she charged at the young man and raised her left fist in the air. Ash closed his eyes fearing that Salvia was going to hit him, but was immediately surprised to feel Salvia's arms wrapping around him, "I missed you my love," Salvia emotionally greeted Ash.

"Sorry for not returning to you earlier," Ash apologised, he returned Salvia's embrace and rested his hand on her head, petting it gently.

The couple pulled back and grinned at each other, it had now been apparent that they were separated for almost over a year, "so did you find anything in your travels?" The princess asked with her curiosity starting to get the best of her.

"How about we talk about it later tonight?" Ash suggested, winking at his girlfriend with a sly smirk.

"Oh come on Ash, don't leave me hanging, I want to know what you have seen," Salvia tried her hardest to talk Ash into telling her about his travels. Ash remained quiet and pet his girlfriend on the head, Salvia crossed her arms and started to pout after the lack of information, she was deep down inside happy that Ash had finally returned, "please Ash, maybe a photo."

"Nope, not until our date tonight," Ash playfully informed the young royal, he walked into the palace gardens to inspect the rebuilt palace.

Salvia watched her boyfriend enter the building, moving her long blue hair aside, tears started to roll down her face, "he is back home," happily the princess whispered to herself. The first thing she noticed was the different attitude Ash seem to be displaying, instead of the brooding nature he had in the fight against the Shadow Lords.

"Hey come inside!" Ash called for Salvia with a cheeky smile.

"Alright!" She called back. After rushing back into the palace, Salvia closed the door and stood at Ash's side. Tilting her head Salvia peered out to the side, "what do you think?" She asked about the presentation of the palace.

"Well it looks better than the last time I saw it," a hint of sarcasm emerged from Ash's lips, he examined the interior and let out a short whistle, "looks much nicer than it did almost two years ago."

"Yeah, that is because you destroyed almost sixty percent of the palace two years ago," Salvia elbowed Ash to remind him of his actions years ago, he scratched his head ashamed of his overuse of power.

"Sorry about that, I guess I did overdo it," Ash submitted to his girlfriend's teasing.

"No it's fine, as long as we saved the Sinnoh region and prevented a war, I can manage with a little renovation of the palace," Salvia told Ash as she showed her own form of sarcasm, she walked ahead of Ash, she looked back and winked at the trainer, "besides, I did say you were going to pay us back for the destruction of the palace," Salvia reminded the raven haired man of his debt to the royal family.

In shock Ash stepped back with his mouth agape, "I-I….I thought you were joking," Ash stammered in disbelief.

"I was joking, there is no way I can expect you to pay us back for the destruction of the palace, besides…" Salvia stopped mid-sentence and started walking up the stairwell, "what kind of girlfriend would I be if I continued to hold a grudge on something like that?" Salvia asked Ash as she prepared to walk up the stairs to her room, "what kind of princess would I be, if I make you pay for that? You saved the Sinnoh region and my life, I am way more grateful to you than you could ever imagine," she confessed her gratitude to Ash.

Later that night Ash was waiting at the entrance way of the main foyer, he was wearing a suit and feeling nervous, it was his first date with Salvia in nearly a year and a half, "oh man, I am so nervous, spending time with Salvia has been something I want to do," Ash whispered to himself, showing a hint of regret at length of time he had been away.

"Are you ready?" Salvia's voice echoed through the main foyer, she was walking down the repaired stairwell, wearing an elegant red dress, her blue hair tied up in a ponytail, upon reaching Ash she stopped and spun around to show off her attire, "so what do you think?"

Ash gulped at the elegant appearance of the princess, he remained calm and remained a little nervous, "let's go," he escorted the princess out, he peered over his shoulder and started to blush at the sight of the princess walking next to him on the way out of the palace, she seemed disappointed that raven haired man didn't answer her questioned, he took a deep breath, "you look amazing," Ash handed down his compliment.

Happy to hear Ash compliment her, she grabbed his arm and clung to him, refusing to let go of him, "I have waited for you to say that," Salvia admitted her desire for Ash's approval. The couple walked out of the palace grounds and onto the streets of the bustling town. Ash and Salvia walked around the town until they reached a small café, "we can go there," the blunette pointed at the café with great excitement.

"But it isn't a fancy one, I really wanted to take you to a…." Ash started complaining but before he could finish, Salvia pressed her finger on his lips and shook her head in disagreement.

"I don't care, I just appreciate the time I have with you," Salvia informed Ash, he chuckled at the royal and finally gave into her insistence. Entering the café, they noticed the different variety of cakes and drinks that were on offer. Salvia was amazed at the selection, she ran up to the front counter, her eyes fixed on a large strawberry cheesecake, "Ash, let's get this one!"

Ash walked up to the counter and looked at the cake that Salvia wanted, "alright," Ash replied, he turned his attention to the female attendant while holding his wallet, "can we get two slices of that cheesecake," Ash requested favourably, but before the woman could put in the price, Ash felt Salvia tugging at his right arm, she was shaking her head, "what is it?"

"Buy the whole thing," Salvia chimed in her suggestion.

"T-t….the whole thing?" Ash stuttered in disbelief in what his girlfriend was suggesting, she nodded leaving Ash to drop his wallet in despair, "the whole thing," Ash muttered repeatedly.

Ash and Salvia walked up to the table, they waited for the order to arrive Salvia placed her elbows of the table and rested her head in her hands, "so Ash, tell me about this new region."

"Very little to say, I was only there for a short time," Ash explained to his girlfriend about the brief visit to the region. The large strawberry cheesecake was placed on the table by the waitress. Ash smirked at the princess, knowing about her limits in eating, "are you certain you can keep up?" Ash jokingly asked the princess.

"When last I travelled with you, I picked up some nasty habits from you, like eating greater amounts in one sitting," Salvia answered while placing the first wedge of cheesecake on her plate, "can you keep up with me Ash?" confidently she asked her boyfriend.

"Challenge accepted," Ash replied to Salvia challenge, he grabbed his first slice, they looked up and smiled at each other.

"Go," the couple called for the start of the race. The first slice of cheesecake disappeared very quickly.

Ash was surprised at the princess' ability to keep up with him on the first slice, they each grabbed their second slice, "I have always wanted to come here with you, they make the best cakes in town, even the palace cooks cannot get close to the quality of this café," Salvia explained her reason for wanting to come to the café and what she really liked about.

"Yeah the cheesecake is really nice," the young man replied, eating another portion of the cheesecake.

After eating the entire cheesecake Ash and Salvia exited the café, the streetlights were on and the people were still out doing their shopping, "wow Salvia, I cannot believe you can eat so much," Ash sounded his amazement at the achievement in eating over half the cheesecake.

Scratching her cheek Salvia showed a hint of awkwardness in beating Ash in eating, "well it is your fault," Salvia accused Ash of her new found eating habit.

"My fault? It isn't like I taught you how to eat like me," Ash snapped back in response to Salvia's comment, he turned away and crossed his arms.

Salvia stood in front of Ash and titled her head, "no need to worry, it isn't like you have a one up on me," Salvia showed a hint of overconfidence, but she noticed the smirk running across her boyfriend's face, it soon became apparent that Ash knew something that she had seemingly forgotten, "what are you smirking for?"

"I bet you still talk in your sleep," Ash answered playfully. Salvia ignored the response, she knew she was caught, as even the guards had noted her sleep talking habit, "what's the matter Salvia? Do you still talk in your sleep?" Ash pressed the matter, trying his best to get Salvia to confess to her habit.

"It isn't like I do it that often," Salvia stepped right into Ash's trap, she immediately noticed Ash's smile broadening, "okay, I lose that one, but the next time I will not be losing."

"Okay, what do you have in mind princess?" Ash enquired smugly.

"I challenge you to a pokemon battle, oh and wait I want to battle you at the Sinnoh League," Salvia challenged Ash to a battle at the Sinnoh League. Ash stood still, he didn't know what to say, the last real battle he had was at the Kalos League against Paul which ended in his defeat, Ash seemed a little uncertain as his confidence was a little low in pokemon battling since the loss of his partner pokemon, it was something that Salvia noticed in their last journey, "I am busy, but if you win that battle I promise to travel to the new region with you," Salvia tried to get Ash to agree with the conditions of the battle.

"But, I am not certain of that," Ash lamented his last battle, "you were there the last time I battled, I lost badly against Paul," he reminded the princess of his previous failures. Salvia raised Ash's head to stare at him eye to eye. Ash wasn't expecting to see the confidence in the princess, she had already beaten him in eating a cheesecake.

"It will be fine, I am challenging you because I feel like it can only be me that makes you confident in being a trainer again," the blue haired royal explained her reasoning to Ash, she continued to convince him to battle against her at the Sinnoh League.

"Alright I will battle you at the Sinnoh League," Ash agreed with Salvia's challenge.

Before Ash could start walking away, Salvia embraced Ash tightly, "good, now, time to bring your confidence as a trainer back," Salvia declared her intentions to the trainer.

**(8 months later)**

Ash and Salvia were standing in the middle of the stadium, the cheering crowd watching both trainers preparing to call their final pokemon to battle, Ash now feeling very confident in his ability to battle yet again, but also noticed how much fun Salvia was having, her smile was never going to vanish from her face, they each threw out their pokeballs to call out the two pokemon inside.

"Gardevoir, let's go!" Salvia called for her strongest pokemon to take the field.

"Lucario, I choose you!" Ash announced his final and strongest member of his team. Ash revealed his bracelet while Salvia did the same thing, "Lucario, Mega-evolve!" Ash instructed his pokemon, he pressed the button releasing a burst of energy, the energy surrounded the aura pokemon before exploding in every direction revealing a more powerful pokemon.

"Gardevoir Mega-Evolve!" Salvia pressed the gem on her wrist, a burst of light surrounded the psychic type pokemon.

After the energy dissipate the two mega-evolved pokemon stood ready, awaiting the commands of their respective trainers.

"Gardevoir start things off with Psychic," Salvia unleashed her mega-evolved pokemon with a confident command.

"Lucario, use Protect to defend!" Ash replied to Salvia's command. Forming a powerful barrier a burst of invisible energy flew over the green barrier, after the attack ended the barrier vanished leaving the aura pokemon defenceless.

"Gardvevoir use Moonblast," Salvia called for another attack. Clapping her arms together a pink sphere formed, Gardevoir threw the orb at the fighting pokemon.

"Lucario, use Metal Claw to defend," Ash called his pokemon to defend against the massive attack. Lucario charged in sliding the orb apart, he closed the distance between himself and Gardevoir, "hit it with Metal Claw," Ash quickly followed through with the defensive call.

"Grass Knot," the princess whispered the next attack.

A root lifted out of the ground, Ash was quick to notice this, "stop the attack, use Bone Ruse to leap over it," Ash called for another defensive move, lowering his steel claws and quickly forming a blue bone staff the aura pokemon dug it in, but was caught off guard when Salvia called for another Grass Knot, the bone staff dissipate preventing Ash from using his game plan.

"Now use Psychic," Salvia ordered her pokemon to follow through.

"Use Aura Sphere to push yourself back," Ash replied with his own command, he watched his pokemon forming a sphere, pushing it forward and propelling the him back to evade the attack in mid-air. A smile ran across his face feeling like he was regaining his confidence in his battling, 'never thought Salvia would be this good,' he thought to himself.

"I am only getting warmed up!" Salvia informed Ash as the crowd started to reach a fever pitch, "Gardevoir while Lucario is still in the air, use Moonblast," the princess ordered her pokemon to unleash another vicious attack.

Ash gritted his teeth unable to do much against the princess' powerful pokemon, "Lucario use Bone Rush to deflect the attack," Ash called for his pokemon to defend himself. A pink sphere was catapulted at the fighting type pokemon who instantly formed another bone staff, this time he was spinning it around to knock the attack away.

Lucario landed after reflecting the attack away, the two pokemon had hardly taken a hit as the trainers were countering each other's calls with perfection, the crowd grew excited by the way the final was heading and the fact that both trainers seemed like they were having fun.

"Use Aura Sphere," Ash impatiently announced his next attack.

Salvia looked on in shock at the rash call from her boyfriend, she knew that Ash made a mistake, "Moonblast now," Salvia ordered the embrace pokemon to unleash a powerful counter attack.

The two combatant trainers watched their attacks collide in the middle of the battlefield, raising parts of the battle field into the air, a glint in Ash's eye appeared, he nodded at his pokemon, the aura pokemon rushed towards the column of smoke and dust, "Lucario use the boulders to close the distance!" Ash yelled out his instructions

Salvia tried her best to find out where the fighting type pokemon was, but couldn't see because of the thick column that obscured her vision, "Gardevoir we wait until Lucario re-appears," the blunette informed her pokemon. The two waited paitiently for Ash to make another mistake and for the opposing pokemon to emerge from the dust.

"Lucario attack now with Aura Sphere," Ash commanded his partner to attack the opposing pokemon.

"Attack from within, clever," Salvia complimented Ash on the plan to attack, 'I cannot evade it, but,' Salvia started to come up with a plan to counter Ash's attack. The blue sphere emerged from the smoke as Salvia whispered her command this time calling for psychic, "throw it back at Lucario," Salvia ordered her pokemon. With the sphere caught in a psychic bind, the attack was thrown back in the dust cloud, with no result Salvia was shocked to see that Lucario had appeared in front of her pokemon, slashing down with a set of metal claws, sending the embrace pokemon skidding backwards, 'so Aura Sphere was a decoy.'

"Thunderbolt now," Salvia order her pokemon to make another counter attack, a devastating blast of electricity surged towards Lucario, knocking it back towards Ash and dealing immense damage at the same time.

Both pokemon struggled to get back to their feet after taking powerful blows, the two trainers knew that their pokemon didn't have much left to fight on with, the next command was going to be the last of the battle, during the small intermission, Salvia noticed a small yellow spark emerging from the body of Lucario.

"Lucario attack now with Metal Claw," Ash ordered his pokemon to make the final attack of the battle against Salvia's pokemon.

"End this battle with Psychic!" Salvia issued the final command of the battle.

Lucario charged in for the final strike while Gardevoir's eyes started to glow blue a powerful wave of energy flowed out from the embrace pokemon, "Lucario jump up now," Ash tried to order his pokemon in desperation.

"It might not work Ash," Salvia reminded Ash with a concerned expression.

Before Lucario could leap into the air he froze with obvious sparks circling around the aura pokemon, terminating the steel type attack and allowing for Salvia's psychic type pokemon to land the critical blow that was needed to end the battle against Ash's team. "Lucario, no!" Ash yelled out in shock, his pokemon beaten in battle along with Salvia being given the battle against him.

"I-I…..I won," Salvia froze in shock, amazed that she had beaten Ash in battle.

The crowd erupted in celebration, the princess had defeated Ash in battle, something not many people expected, as they already knew that Ash was an experienced trainer, but nothing was going to change the fact that Salvia had beaten Ash in the final battle of the Sinnoh League and the fact that she was now the champion.

Ash fell back looking at the sky, a broad smile crossing his face, 'normally, losing would bring me down, but this time I don't mind it,' Ash thought to himself, he sat up, seeing that Salvia was frozen in place, she didn't know how to react, 'Thank you Salvia, you reignited my passion for pokemon training again, you're right, you brought my confidence back,' Ash reminded himself of the promise that Salvia made to him.

Ash recalled his fallen pokemon and started walking to his girlfriend, 'I won,' Salvia repeatedly reminded herself of her victory against Ash.

Ash stopped in front of the princess, "thank you for relighting the fire in me, I really needed it," Ash extended his hand out to Salvia.

Salvia snapped out of her shock and extended her hand out, she almost grabbed his hand to shake it but Ash pulled back, "I have something else in mind," Ash whispered, he pulled out a small container, he kneeled down in front of the royal, catching her off guard and silencing the crowd, they watched in awe. Ash opened the case and smiled at the princess, "Salvia, will you marry me?"

Hesitant with her reply, Salvia was amazed that Ash had finally popped the question on her, she started to cry out of joy, "yes….yes, I will," Salvia accepted the request, Ash placed the ring on her finger and stood up, Salvia jumped on Ash placed her arms over his shoulders, "I love you Ash," Salvia expressed her love for Ash, with tears of joy.

Ash and Salvia moved closer to each other kissing in front of the massive audience, they started to cheer on the engaged couple, they pulled back and ignored the crowd looking at each other with love, "Salvia, I love you," Ash mouthed his love to Salvia, only for her to hear it.

**(4 months later)**

Ash was sitting in a room, he was suited up and ready to walk down the aisle, he was nervous since he was denied once, but he questioned whether he was truly ready to start a new chapter in his life. Ash jolted up upon hearing someone knocking on the door, "yo Ash, it's almost time," Brock's voice called to his best friend.

"Thanks Brock," Ash replied, he opened the door and noticed tears rolling down his friend's face, "what's the matter? Shouldn't you be saving the tears for the ceremony?" Ash asked his friend with a playful grin.

"I never thought my best friend would beat me at getting married," Brock confessed while burying his head in his arms.

"Come on, I cannot let the people wait," Ash helped his best friend down the hallway.

Moments later Ash walked down the walkway, it was surrounded by friends and family, he noticed his friends from past adventures, their eyes fixed on Ash who was showing a hint of nervousness in his walk, 'oh man, this is it,' Ash thought focusing on the alter at the front.

Ash reached the alter and turned to the entrance of the hall, on cue the music started playing, the crowd grew silent and the doors flung open, entering the hall was a woman wearing a white dress with a long trail being held up by the bridesmaid, she was holding a bouquet of gracidea flowers.

After reaching the alter Ash lifted up the veil and stared into Salvia's glistening blue eyes, he took her hands, awaiting for the ceremony to begin, Ash felt his heart racing as the crowd grew silent with anticipation.

"Dearly beloved we are gathered her to celebrate the union between Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town and Princess Salvia," the priest announced to the excited crowd, explaining everything on the sheet with the crowd watching, waiting for the couple to take the vows, "the bonds between these two will continue to grow and with the vows their bond will never be broken," the priest grabbed a sheet of paper and turned to Ash.

"Wait, those vows aren't the ones I want to use," Ash interrupted the priest much to his disgust, "I want to make a promise without it being tied down to something scripted," Ash informed the priest calmly.

"But these ones have been prepared," the priest objected, but Ash ignored the complaint of the holy figure.

Ash turned to Salvia again and tightened his grip slightly, taking a deep breath Ash kept his eyes glued on the princess, "Salvia, I promise to support you in the path you take, to be there when you need me the most, to pick you up when you are feeling down, to love you unconditionally, that I promise. I promise to be at your side for the rest of our journey together," Ash expressed his promise, sliding the ring onto her finger.

"I also have my vows as well," Salvia responded, the priest threw the paper into the air in response, not happy with the fact that Ash and Salvia weren't following the script, "I sorry sir, but there is no script now," Salvia apologised to the minister, she grabbed the ring and kept her focus on Ash, "I promise to follow you on whatever journey you may follow, to keep you from falling and to support you in your ambitions, when you fall into darkness I promise to give you my light, I promise to love you unconditionally and stay at your side throughout the rest of our journey," Salvia made her promise, slipping the golden ring on his finger.

"Alright with the vows exchanged, I now declare you husband and wife," the holy figure announced, "you may kiss the bride," he instructed the trainer to seal the ceremony with a kiss.

Ash leaned in and gently kissed Salvia with the crowd watching the end of the wedding, after pulling back from the short kiss Ash stared at Salvia and smiled at her, "thank you for saving me," Ash gratefully whispered.

Six hours had passed since the party, Ash and Salvia entered the carriage heading to the port, with Salvia throwing the bouquet which was caught by Ash's former travelling companion May, Ash then took one last look back, he noticed a woman with long blue hair staring at them, she was smiling at him and Salvia, she turned away and started walking away, 'Dawn, you were at the wedding as well,' Ash thought to himself as the spirit of the blunette vanished for the final time.

The carriage rode off with the princess and Ash inside, heading to the port that would take them to their next journey together, their honeymoon which they could savour for the longest time possible, "I cannot wait to see this region," Salvia fell onto Ash's shoulder and hummed gently, "Dawn was watching I know it, she wouldn't miss out on our wedding for anything," Salvia stated much to Ash's pleasure, he wrapped his arm around Salvia as the married couple rode off onto their next adventure together.

* * *

**The End.**

**I have been a little busy, but I have tried pretty hard to get some of the chapters written, also I will be doing different franchises with my own unique stories, please be on the lookout for Gundam Storm and my Yugioh Story the Duelists of Legend, meanwhile I will be working on the remaining pokemon stories as well as one last AshXSalvia.**


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